COMMUNITIES AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT

Council Housing: Lewisham

Heidi Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much funding his Department plans to provide to Lewisham Homes for the purposes of meeting the Decent Homes standard in respect of its housing stock.

Andrew Stunell: The Homes and Communities Agency has made a provisional indicative capital funding offer of £153.8 million to Lewisham Homes to deliver a Decent Homes investment programme. Future funding allocations for the Decent Homes programme will be decided in the context of the spending review.

Council Housing: Waiting Lists

Eric Ollerenshaw: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many people there were seeking properties of each size on council house waiting lists in each local authority area in each of the last five years. [R]

Andrew Stunell: Information on social housing waiting lists is collected in terms of the number of households (rather than people). Information on the bedroom size requirement of households on social housing waiting lists, as at 1 April each year, is collected on the Housing Strategy Statistical Appendix (HSSA) from each local authority in England.
	A table giving this information has been placed in the Library of the House. Information as at 1 April 2010 is due for publication in November/December 2010.

Departmental Allowances

Matthew Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much his Department and its predecessors spent on  (a) reimbursement of staff expenses and  (b) the 10 largest staff expense reimbursement claims in each year since 1997.

Bob Neill: Expenditure on reimbursement of staff expenses from 2002-03 is set out in the following table. Information for previous years is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
	
		
			   Reimbursement of staff expenses (£) 
			 2002-03 2,385,831 
			 2003-04 1,040,504 
			 2004-05 1,046,485 
			 2005-06 939,512 
			 2006-07 836,829 
			 2007-08 758,112 
			 2008-09 785,698 
			 2009-10 666,765 
		
	
	Information on the 10 largest staff expense reimbursement claims in each year since 1997 could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Departmental Furniture

Matthew Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many chairs his Department and its predecessors purchased in each year since 1997; how much was spent in each such year; and what the five most expensive chairs purchased in each such year were.

Bob Neill: The number of chairs purchased by Communities and Local Government, their cost and details of the five most expensive chairs purchased each year since its inception in 2006 are laid out in the two tables.
	
		
			  Chairs purchased by CLG 
			   Number purchased  Cost (£000) 
			 2006 298 68,520 
			 2007 1,751 464,362 
			 2008 386 140,740 
			 2009 1,210 390,680 
			 2010 4 2,147 
		
	
	All this expenditure has been incurred prior to the 2010 general election, with the exception of two orthopaedic chairs.
	
		
			   Five most expensive purchased 
			 2006 Opera range (Advanced Seating Design), Think (Steelcase) and Imbrex (Godfrey Syrett) 
			 2007 Opera 66 and other Opera range chairs (Advanced Seating Design) 
			 2008 Opera 27 and other Opera range chairs (Advanced Seating Design) and orthopaedic chairs from Posturite range 
			 2009 HM34 (Hitch Mylius), Opera 26 (Advance Seating Design) Lola (Allermuir), RH300 Logic(Posturite) 
			 2010 Opera 30, Opera 30-8 and Opera 64 (Advance Seating Design) 
		
	
	With the exception of the Think chairs purchased in 2006 and the Lola and Hitch Mylius chairs purchased in 2009, the remainder of the most expensive chairs purchased each year, including all chairs purchased in 2010, are orthopaedic chairs that have been tailored to meet the specific outcomes of display screen assessments and workstation assessments.
	No specific data is held for chairs purchased in the period from 1997 to 2005.

Departmental ICT

Pete Wishart: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government which IT contracts awarded by his Department in each of the last five years have been abandoned; and what the monetary value of each such contract was.

Bob Neill: The information requested is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Departmental Pensions

Pete Wishart: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the cost was of pension contributions incurred by  (a) his Department and  (b) each (i) non-departmental public body and (ii) executive agency for which he is responsible in (A) Scotland, (B) Wales, (C) each region of England and (D) Northern Ireland in each of the last three financial years; and what the planned expenditure is for 2010-11.

Bob Neill: The cost of pension contributions made over the last three financial years for the main Department is shown in the following table:
	
		
			  Financial year  Cost (£ million) 
			 2007-08 15.6 
			 2008-09 15.4 
			 2009-10 15.4 
		
	
	Based on current staffing levels, forecast expenditure this year on pension costs is £14.7 million for the main Department.
	All the above figures relate to main Department in England and we are not able to break these figures down into the Government office regions. Information on the Department's NDPBs and executive agencies is not held centrally.

Departmental Public Relations

Pete Wishart: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the monetary value was of  (a) public opinion research and  (b) public relations contracts awarded by his Department in each (i) nation and (ii) region of the UK in each of the last five years.

Bob Neill: For public opinion research and public relations activity the Department's Communication Directorate primarily uses the contracts operated by the Central Office of Information (COI). Information provided by the COI detailing the monetary value of  (a) opinion research and  (b) public relations work commissioned by the Department under these contracts in each of the last five years has been deposited in the Library of the House. A breakdown by nation, Government office region and London could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Empty Dwelling Management Orders

Graham Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many empty dwelling management orders have been issued in each local authority area in each year since 2006.

Grant Shapps: A list of Empty Dwelling Management Orders issued in each local authority in each year since 2006 is as follows:
	
		
			  Authority  Number of EDMOs 
			  2006  
			 South Oxfordshire DC 1 
			  2007  
			 Carlisle DC 1 
			 LB Hounslow 1 
			 LB Lewisham 5 
			 Norwich CC 1 
			 Peterborough CC 1 
			 Swale BC 1 
			 Wychavon DC 1 
			  2008  
			 LB Bromley 1 
			 LB Hammersmith & Fulham 1 
			 Norwich CC 5 
			 South Norfolk DC 1 
			  2009  
			 Bolton BC 1 
			 Carlisle DC 1 
			 New Forest DC 1 
			 Peterborough CC 1 
			 Southend on Sea 2 
			 South Gloucestershire Council 1 
			 South Tyneside BC 1 
			  2010  
			 Bolton BC 1 
			 LB Lewisham 22 
			 Staffordshire Moorlands DC 1 
			 Stockton on Tees Council 1

Government Offices for the Regions

Catherine McKinnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether he has set a timetable for the closure of the Government Office in each region; whether he expects existing employees will be made redundant under the present compensation terms; and if he will make a statement.

Greg Clark: On 22 July the Secretary of State announced the Government's intention in principle to abolish the remaining Government Offices following consideration of consequential issues. I refer the hon. Member to the written ministerial statement made to the House on 22 July 2010,  Official Report, columns 27-28WS, on Regional Government in which we state the final decisions on the future of the Government Office Network, including arrangements for closure and for the redeployment or release of staff, will be made at the end of the spending review in the autumn.

Government Offices for the Regions

Catherine McKinnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether employees of the Government Offices for the Regions fall within the definition of surplus staff contained in the Cabinet Office's April 2008 publication Efficiency and Relocation Support Programme: Protocol for Handling Surplus Staff Situations; and if he will make a statement.

Greg Clark: The announcement made on 22 July regarding the remaining Government Offices made clear that final decisions will be made at the end of the spending review. Until that time Government Office staff are not regarded as being surplus.

Government Offices for the Regions

Catherine McKinnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what cost/benefit analysis he carried out prior to his decision on the future of the Government offices for the regions.

Greg Clark: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave the hon. Member for North Ayrshire and Arran (Katy Clark) on 27 July 2010,  Official Report, column 1038W.

Government Offices for the Regions

Catherine McKinnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what consultation he undertook with trades unions on his decision on the future of the Government Offices for the Regions; and if he will make a statement.

Greg Clark: The Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government met Government office network trade union representatives prior to making his announcement on 22 July. A final decision on the future of the network will be made at the end of the spending review and discussions with Government office network trade union representatives continue as part of the spending review process.
	I also refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave the hon. Member for Liverpool, Riverside (Mrs Ellman) on 27 July 2010,  Official Report, column 1037W.

Government Offices for the Regions

David Blunkett: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government which 
	(1)  bodies at what structural  (a) level and  (b) location will be responsible for economic regional development fund activity following the proposed abolition of regional government offices;
	(2)  functions hitherto undertaken by Government Offices  (a) will be undertaken by (i) Government departments and (ii) local enterprise partnerships and  (b) have yet to be assigned to another body following the abolition of the Government Offices for the Regions.

Greg Clark: On 22 July 2010 the Government announced their intention in principle to abolish the remaining Government offices subject to consideration of consequential issues including which Government office functions need to continue. The spending review process is being used to test which activities should continue, and to decide the most cost-effective way of doing this. The final decisions on the future of the Government office network, including the transfer of on-going functions, will be announced at the end of the spending review in the autumn.

Government Offices for the Regions

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many redundancies he expects will take place  (a) in the South West and  (b) in England as a result of his decision to close the Government Office for the South West; and what the projected cost savings are arising from the closure of the other Government Offices for the Regions in the first year after closure.

Greg Clark: I refer the hon. Member to the written ministerial statement made to the House on 22 July 2010,  Official Report, columns 27-28WS, on Regional Government in which we state the final decisions on the future of the Government Office Network, including arrangements for the redeployment or release of Government Office staff, will be made at the end of the spending review in the autumn.
	We anticipate savings from any final decision to close the Government Office Network. The exact sums will not be clear until the end of the spending review.

Housing: Construction

Graham Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what steps he has taken to implement his policy on not telling communities how or where to build; and what effect the implementation of this policy will have on developments on green belt land.

Bob Neill: In the coalition agreement we undertook to maintain the green belt. One major step has already been taken-on 6 July we revoked all regional strategies, thus removing regional housing targets and the pressure they created to release green belt land for development. That means the protection of green belts is in the hands of local communities. Local planning authorities should have regard to Planning Policy Guidance Note 2, "Green Belts", which establishes a presumption against inappropriate development on green belt land.

Housing: Construction

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much Kickstart funding was  (a) allocated and  (b) disbursed to each local authority for building projects in 2009-10.

Grant Shapps: There was no Kick-start funding allocated or disbursed to local authorities as they were not eligible to apply.
	Details of all Kickstart schemes that are proceeding are shown on the Homes and Communities Agency's website.

Hyndburn Borough Council

Graham Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what recent representations he has received from Hyndburn borough council on reductions in levels of public expenditure.

Bob Neill: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State has not received any recent representation from Hyndburn borough council on reductions in levels of public expenditure.

Local Government Finance

David Blunkett: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what estimate he has made of the average percentage change in local authority budgets in 2012-13 consequent upon the removal of area-based grant and changes to revenue support grant; and what estimate he has made of the percentage budget change in these circumstances for each top-tier local authority.

Bob Neill: Decisions on local authority budgets is a matter for individual local authorities. Spending plans for local government for 2011-12 onwards are being considered in the context of the spending review which will be announced on 20 October 2010.

Local Government: Investment

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much money  (a) in total and  (b) derived from the sale of council houses each local authority invested in financial markets in the most recent period for which figures are available.

Bob Neill: Local authorities in England had estimated total investments in financial markets of £20.004 million as at 31 March 2010. The data are as reported by local authorities to Communities and Local Government on the annual capital payments and receipts (CPR4) forms. I have today placed in the Library of the House a table giving details of the investments for each local authority.
	It is not possible to say how much of these investments are derived from the sale of council houses as local authority investments cannot be attributed to particular sources from which they derive funds.

Local Government: Regulation

Christopher Pincher: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if he will take steps to reduce the regulatory burden placed on local authorities by his Department.

Bob Neill: We are already taking steps to reduce the regulatory burden by abolishing comprehensive area assessment and disbanding the Audit Commission. We are also reducing the unnecessary burden of secondary legislation and other forms of regulation to remove needless bureaucracy. We have already announced various changes including consolidation of building regulations and consolidation of three sets of tree protection regulations together with streamlining of this system. And, the forthcoming Localism Bill will contain additional measures that will further free local government from central and regional control so that they can ensure services are delivered according to local needs.
	The Government are committed to ensuring that new burdens on local authorities are fully and properly funded to avoid pressure on council tax.

Private Rented Housing: Regulation

Graham Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much has been spent by each local authority on enforcement of the law relating to the private rented sector in each year since 2004.

Grant Shapps: This information is not held centrally. Under the Housing Act 2004, local authorities can, in many cases, recover all or part of the costs associated with enforcement action against a private landlord.

Regional Planning and Development

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many staff employed by  (a) regional development agencies and  (b) local government leaders' forums have been involved in preparing regional strategies in each region outside London in each of the last five years.

Bob Neill: The information requested is not held centrally by my Department and can be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Renewable Energy

Edward Miliband: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what assessment he has made of the effects of the abolition of regional spatial strategies on the amount of renewable energy produced at a local level.

Greg Clark: The regional strategies were ineffective and flawed; just as with house building, imposing top-down targets does not increase the level of sustainable development. This Government want to see real increases in renewable energy produced at the local level. We are committed to meeting the challenge of climate change and securing a low carbon future as shown in our Annual Energy Statement. As laid out in the DECC press release of 9 August 2010, the new Government have overturned the law banning councils from selling their surplus renewable energy, and will be introducing new incentives to spur local power generation from renewables, to bring in long-term income to benefit local areas and to secure local acceptance for low carbon energy projects. This is a fundamental different approach from the last Government.

Social Rented Housing: Greater London

Chuka Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much funding his Department has allocated for the construction of social housing in  (a) London,  (b) the London borough of Lambeth and  (c) Streatham constituency in 2010-11.

Andrew Stunell: The following table shows allocation provided in 2010-11 through the Homes and Communities Agency's National Affordable Housing Programme, Local Authority New Build and Kickstart programmes for the provision of affordable housing. The table shows the split of allocation between social rent and low cost home ownership, so far is as follows:
	
		
			  £ 
			  Category  London  Lambeth 
			 NAHP Social Rent 64,377,372 5,400,000 
			 NAHP LCHO 13,348,511 1,941,680 
			 LA New Build 777,484 0 
			 Kickstart Rent 2,680,000 0 
			 Kickstart LCHO 682,928 0 
		
	
	HCA do not collate information down to areas within local authorities. Allocation of funding from the NAHP is done on a bids basis so the actual allocation for the year is unknown at present. The figures in the table are to the end of August for the programme.

Travellers

Tobias Ellwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether he plans to review the powers and responsibilities of local authorities in respect of Gypsies and Travellers.

Andrew Stunell: The Government will bring into force section 318 of the Housing and Regeneration Act 2008 which includes local authority traveller sites in the Mobile Homes Act 1983. Residents of authorised local authority traveller sites will gain improved protection against eviction which means they will be treated in the same way as those who live on other residential mobile home sites.
	Councils will be given incentives through the New Homes Bonus scheme to deliver traveller sites.
	The Government intend, subject to necessary impact assessments, to revoke Planning Circular 01/2006 Planning for Gypsy and Traveller Sites and replace it with a short policy statement and light touch guidance.
	The Government are working on proposals to strengthen the powers that local authorities have to enforce against breaches of planning control and to limit the opportunities for retrospective planning applications in relation to any form of unauthorised development.

TRANSPORT

Airports: Planning

Nicky Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether airports required to publish master plans will be required to continue to do so following the abolition of local development frameworks.

Theresa Villiers: On 6 July 2010, the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government made a statement informing Parliament that regional strategies (outside London) had been revoked with immediate effect, returning decision-making powers on housing and planning to local councils. Local plans and development frameworks have not been abolished.
	The 2003 "The Future of Air Transport" White Paper, published by the previous Government, recommended that the operators of certain airports maintain a master plan document detailing their airport development proposals, to inform the content of local development frameworks. This recommendation did not constitute a mandatory requirement for airports to publish master plans.

Aviation: Security

Rehman Chishti: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether passive millimetre wave and X-ray technology body scanners have been used at any UK  (a) airport,  (b) port,  (c) railway station and  (d) underground station in the last 10 years.

Theresa Villiers: Passive millimetre wave technology is not in use in the UK. Security scanners using backscatter x-ray and active millimetre wave technology are in use in London Heathrow, London Gatwick and Manchester airports for transport security purposes.
	Security scanners are not currently deployed operationally at any port, railway station or underground station for transport security purposes. The Department for Transport has, however, carried out trials of security scanners at Paddington railway station in the past.

Aviation: Security

Rehman Chishti: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what recent assessment he has made of the effectiveness of passive millimetre wave and X-ray technology body scanners; and whether he plans to introduce them at UK airports.

Theresa Villiers: Security scanners based on active millimetre wave and backscatter x-ray technologies are already deployed in UK airports.
	The effectiveness of security scanners is assessed through detailed laboratory testing carried out by the Home Office Scientific Development Branch on behalf of the Department for Transport. Passive millimetre wave security scanners have been tested but were not found to be as effective as other technologies.

Government Departments: Tyres

Tristram Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what guidance his Department issues on the frequency and nature of tyre condition checks for vehicles owned by Government departments and their agencies and non-departmental public bodies; and what steps his Department is taking to ensure that such guidance is observed.

Michael Penning: None. It is for each Government Department to decide how best to ensure the compliance of any vehicles it owns with the legal requirements relating to tyre tread depth.

Government Departments: Tyres

Tristram Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what minimum requirements for tread depth his Department sets for vehicles owned by Government departments, their agencies and non-departmental bodies; and what steps his Department is taking to ensure that these requirements are observed.

Michael Penning: Minimum requirements for tread depth are set out in the Road Vehicles (Construction and Use) Regulations 1986, as amended, and vary according to type of vehicle. For cars, the minimum depth is 1.6 mm. The Department for Transport does not set different standards specifically for Government owned vehicles.
	It is for each Government Department to decide how best to ensure the compliance of any vehicles it owns with the legal requirements relating to tyre tread depth.

Government Departments: Tyres

Tristram Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will bring forward proposals to increase the  (a) frequency and  (b) quality of tyre condition checks for vehicles owned by Government Departments and their agencies and non-departmental public bodies.

Michael Penning: No.
	It is for each Government Department to decide how best to check the compliance of any vehicles it owns with the legal requirements relating to tyre tread depth.

Leamside Railway Line

Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps have been taken to preserve the infrastructure of the Leamside Line for potential future use.

Theresa Villiers: The land occupied by the Leamside Line is owned by Network Rail which has no plans to dispose of it. The Department for Transport has the opportunity to object to any disposal of this nature proposed by Network Rail, should this ever arise, as part of a process regulated by the Office of Rail Regulation. Planning Policy Guidance (PPG13) gives guidance on the safeguarding of transport routes and local authorities have planning powers to prevent disused railway lines from being used for development.

Leamside Railway Line

Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what studies have been carried out by his Department on the case for reopening the Leamside Line.

Theresa Villiers: The Department for Transport has not carried out any studies on the case for reopening the Leamside Line. However a study was carried out by Tyne and Wear PTE (Nexus) in 2008 which looked at a range of options for possible use of the line and estimated the costs of reopening and likely value for money.

London Airports

Zac Goldsmith: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether the South East Airports Task Force will consider the scope for reducing the number of transfer passengers using airports in the South East.

Theresa Villiers: Heathrow is the UK's only major hub airport and therefore the only UK airport handling large numbers of transfer passengers. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State has made clear the importance of securing Heathrow's hub status within the constraints of the existing runways. The South East Airports Taskforce is exploring measures to help make the most of existing infrastructure and improve conditions for all users at Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted airports. I intend to publish the taskforce's terms of reference shortly.

Railways: Construction

Ben Wallace: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what plans there are for high speed rail services to stop at Preston.

Philip Hammond: The Government's vision is of a truly national high speed rail network linking the UK's major conurbations. No final decisions on the shape or phasing of the network will be taken until full public consultation has taken place. Decisions on operational specification-including service patterns-will not be taken until a later stage in the project's life cycle.

Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation

Zac Goldsmith: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport pursuant to the answer of 22 June 2010,  Official Report, column 109W, on biofuels: EU action, if he will make the acceleration of the rate of annual increases of the UK renewable transport fuel obligations conditional on mandatory sustainability criteria.

Norman Baker: The Renewable Energy Directive (RED) and Fuel Quality Directive (FQD) contain mandatory sustainability criteria for biofuels. These include that biofuels must deliver a GHG saving of at least 35%, and must not be sourced from areas of high biodiversity, or from high carbon soils (such as rainforests or wetlands).
	All biofuels will have to meet mandatory sustainability criteria in order to be counted towards meeting the targets in the RED and FQD, subject to certain exceptions. We will be consulting soon on proposals to implement the RED and FQD, including on how to ensure biofuels used in the UK meet mandatory sustainability criteria set out in the directives.
	Future decisions on obligation levels under the renewable transport fuel obligation will be made in the light of available information on the impacts of higher targets on sustainability, indirect land use change and how best to deploy biomass resources across different sectors.

Roads: Accidents

William Bain: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many fatal road accidents have involved quad bikes in each of the last four years.

Michael Penning: The information requested cannot be identified separately. Quad bikes do not fall into any of the main vehicle categories recorded by the police in road accidents. Those involved in reported personal injury accidents are recorded as part of the 'other motor vehicle' category along with vehicles such as ambulances, fire engines, and motorised wheel chairs.

Speed Limits: Cameras

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for East Yorkshire of 20 July 2010,  Official Report, column 188W, on speed limits: cameras, how many responses he has received to his letter dated 24 June 2010 on the Government's position on speed cameras; and if he will place in the Library a copy of each response.

Michael Penning: I have received six responses to my letter dated 24 June in which I set out the Government's position regarding speed cameras. To comply with data protection requirements these have been summarised. The summary has been placed in the Libraries of the House.

Tyres

Tristram Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what discussions he has had with his counterparts in other EU countries on labelling of tyres with respect to fuel efficiency.

Michael Penning: None. EU Regulation No. 1222/2009 on the labelling of tyres with respect to fuel efficiency and other essential parameters was adopted on 25 November 2009. It will come into effect from 1 November 2012 for all tyres produced from 1 July 2012. Coalition Ministers have not had any discussions with counterparts in EU member states on this regulation.

Tyres

Tristram Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether his Department has assessed the merits of strengthening the inspection requirements for the tyre condition of school buses.

Michael Penning: No. Large passenger-carrying vehicles such as school buses must have a tread depth of at least 1 mm across three-quarters of the breadth of the tread and in a continuous band around the entire circumference.
	This is checked at the annual roadworthiness test and is also enforced at the roadside by the police and the Vehicle and Operator Services Agency. The operator of the service has a responsibility to ensure that the vehicle is always roadworthy.

Tyres

Tristram Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what research his Department has  (a) commissioned and  (b) evaluated on the relationship between the rolling resistance of tyres and levels of fuel consumption.

Michael Penning: The Department for Transport has not commissioned any research on the relationship between tyre rolling resistance and fuel economy. However, in the process of producing an Impact Assessment on EU Regulation 661/2008, which sets limits on the maximum permissible rolling resistance of tyres, the Department drew on research conducted by other organisations. This included a joint study by the organisations TNO Science and Industry, the Laboratory of Applied Thermodynamics and the Institute of European Environmental Policy entitled "Review and analysis of the reduction potential and costs of technological and other measures to reduce CO2 emissions from passenger cars" and the "Tyre/road noise reference book" by Informex.

Tyres

Tristram Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will bring forward proposals to improve the provision of information to businesses about the relationship between the rolling resistance of tyres and levels of fuel consumption.

Michael Penning: The EU Tyre Labelling Regulation 1222/2009 will require tyre suppliers to provide consumers with information on the rolling resistance, wet grip and noise performance of all tyres from November 2012. The Department for Transport will work with industry to ensure that private and business consumers are educated to enable them to understand this information and the fuel economy benefits of low rolling resistance tyres.

Tyres

Tristram Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport on how many occasions he has held meetings with representatives of road safety organisations since his appointment; and whether he discussed enforcement of the tyre condition law for motor vehicles on any such occasion.

Michael Penning: Ministers regularly meet with a wide range of road safety organisations and a broad range of road safety issues are discussed at these meetings. However, the specific subject of enforcing tyre condition regulations has not been discussed in detail.

Tyres

Tristram Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport 
	(1)  whether  (a) his Department,  (b) the Government Car and Dispatch Agency and  (c) other agencies and non-departmental public bodies take into account rolling resistance as a performance criterion when purchasing tyres;
	(2)  if he will make it his policy to ensure that rolling resistance is taken into account by Government Departments and their agencies and non-departmental public bodies as a performance criterion when purchasing tyres.

Michael Penning: Current Government Buying Standards published on the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affair's website provide Government Departments and agencies with advice on procurement and maintenance of vehicles. This already includes guidance encouraging the use of lower rolling resistance tyres. The increased availability of objective information on tyre rolling resistance, as required by EU Regulation 1222/2009, will help support these decisions. Purchasing decisions are ultimately a matter for individual Departments and agencies to take bearing in mind their own budgets and the benefits of different technologies within their specific operation.

INDEPENDENT PARLIAMENTARY STANDARDS AUTHORITY COMMITTEE

Members: Telephones

Michael Meacher: To ask the hon. Member for Broxbourne, representing the Speaker's Committee for the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority, what steps the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority is taking to reduce the average length of time taken before telephone calls from hon. Members are answered.

Charles Walker: The Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority has recently introduced a new call handling system. This has allowed IPSA to make a number of improvements (such as queuing calls more efficiently across a wider group of operatives) which will enable them to deal with calls more effectively and reduce the average call waiting time.

HOUSE OF COMMONS COMMISSION

Catering: Prices

Graham Jones: To ask the hon. Member for Middlesbrough, representing the House of Commons Commission, what estimate the House of Commons Commission has made of the increase in the House's income in 2011-12 arising from increased catering and bar prices; and whether the Commission has estimated the likely effect of those increased prices on the amount claimed by hon. Members for subsistence from the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority in 2011-12.

Stuart Bell: It is difficult to forecast accurately the impact on take-up of services following price increases. However, the Commission intends that the increases will yield additional income of around £500,000 this year, and believes that this figure is a cautious estimate. The Commission is not responsible for Members' expenses and has made no estimate of the likely effect of the price increases on amounts which will be claimed by hon. Members for subsistence from the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority.

CULTURE MEDIA AND SPORT

Arts: Public Expenditure

Louise Bagshawe: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what estimate he has made of public expenditure on the arts in each year since 1997.

Hugh Robertson: DCMS expenditure on the arts since 1997 is set out in the following table.
	
		
			  Financial year  Arts sector support (£ million) 
			 1997-98 196.4 
			 1998-99 199.7 
			 1999-2000 229.8 
			 2000-01 238.8 
			 2001-02 252.9 
			 20002-03 301.5 
			 2003-04 367.6 
			 2004-05 398.2 
			 2005-06 410.6 
			 2006-07 430.4 
			 2007-08 425.9 
			 2008-09 435.8 
		
	
	The provisional outturn figure for 2009-10 is £449.0 million, and the planned figure for 2010-11 is £443.3 million.

Copyright

Tristram Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what discussions  (a) he and  (b) officials in his Department have had with Ofcom on the Online Copyright Infringement Initial Obligations Code and (i) compliance with data protection and privacy law, (ii) the standard of evidence required to take action against alleged copyright infringers and (iii) ensuring a fair and accessible appeals process; and if he will make a statement.

Hugh Robertson: DCMS officials have been in regular contact with Ofcom as they have consulted on the Initial Obligations Code, and considered their draft in the light of the responses they received. We will continue with this dialogue as both Ofcom and Government need to be confident that the code meets the requirements of the Digital Economy Act. This includes important aspects such as data protection and privacy, and the standard of evidence. We and Ofcom have always been clear that the appeals process is an important and integral part of the process.

Museums, Libraries and Archives Council

Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what estimate he has made of the total savings which will accrue to the Exchequer as a result of the closure of the regional offices of the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council.

Hugh Robertson: The offices of the MLA's nine regional agencies were closed between January 2009 and March 2010. These closures and related savings enabled DCMS to reduce the MLA's core funding by £3.4 million per annum.

Museums, Libraries and Archives Council

Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what estimate he has made of the total savings which will accrue to the Exchequer as a result of the abolition of the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council.

Hugh Robertson: The abolition of the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council (MLA) will free up resources for front line museum services, ensuring value for money and improving transparency about where taxpayers money is spent. Officials are working with the MLA to discuss the transfer of a number of existing programmes, including Renaissance in the Regions. MLA's allocation for 2010-11 is £62.6 million, however, until discussions on the transfer of programmes have been completed, it is not possible to estimate the total scale of savings per year. Further details on this will be given in due course.

Swimming

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport how much expenditure will be saved in 2010-11 by ending the free swimming initiative.

Hugh Robertson: A total of £25,951,788 from the £40 million resource funding allocated for 2010-11 has been saved by ending the free swimming programme. An additional £25 million of capital funding allocated for the programme in 2010-11 has also been saved.

Television: Digital Broadcasting

Mark Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what estimate he has made of the number of people in  (a) Wales,  (b) England,  (c) Scotland and  (d) Northern Ireland who receive television through a relay transmitter.

Edward Vaizey: I have made no such estimate. As the independent regulator for the communications industry, Ofcom is responsible for ensuring broadcasters and transmission operators comply with their licence conditions in areas such as transmission coverage and reception, including monitoring the quality and quantity of reception received through relay transmitters.
	I have therefore asked Ofcom's chief executive to consider the question raised by the hon. Member for Ceredigion and to write to him direct.
	Copies of the reply will be placed in the Libraries of both Houses.

Television: Urban Areas

Emma Reynolds: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what his estimate is 
	(1)  of the number of cities that could be served by city TV stations;
	(2)  of the minimum size of conurbation that could support a city TV station;
	(3)  of the number of rural areas that would be able to receive a broadcast signal from city TV stations.

Hugh Robertson: The Government would like to see as many local television services emerge as the market can provide. We are currently awaiting the outcome of Nicholas Shott's review into the commercial viability of local television, including the areas and conurbations which might support these services. We expect to publish its proposals later this autumn.

Theatre: National Income

Louise Bagshawe: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what estimate he has made of the contribution of the theatre sector to gross domestic product in each year since 1997.

Hugh Robertson: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer given to the hon. Member for Luton North (Kelvin Hopkins) on 26 July 2010,  Official Report, column 608W.

UK Film Council

Chuka Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what impact assessment he has  (a) commissioned and  (b) evaluated on the abolition of the UK Film Council.

Hugh Robertson: No formal impact assessment was commissioned. The basis for the decision has been the need to find savings in all areas of the Department's spending, and to ensure that every pound of public money we allocate to supporting the film industry gives the maximum benefit. This commitment to the UK film industry is why we are increasing their share of lottery funding.

SCOTLAND

Future Jobs Fund: Scotland

Gregg McClymont: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland on how many occasions since his appointment he has held meetings with ministerial colleagues to discuss the Future Jobs Fund in Scotland.

Michael Moore: The Future Jobs Fund will be replaced next year by the Work Programme, which is being developed as part of the Government's plans to get Britain working. Existing commitments to the Future Jobs Fund are being met by the Government. I discussed the reform of the benefits system with the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions on 28 July.

Housing Benefit

Ann McKechin: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland with which  (a) housing associations,  (b) local authorities and  (c) other organisations in Scotland he held meetings to discuss the impact of the proposed changes in housing benefit in July and August 2010.

Michael Moore: The Department for Work and Pensions has had preliminary discussions with the Scottish Government and shall continue to liaise with it and key stakeholders on the changes to housing benefit affecting the social rented sector. As part of the process to introduce the necessary legislation the Department for Work and Pensions will publish its proposals and associated impact assessments in due course.

Official Visits

Ann McKechin: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland which local authority areas in Scotland  (a) he and  (b) the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State visited in August 2010.

Michael Moore: During August 2010 my colleague, the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, and I visited a number of local authority areas on official business. In the course of the next few weeks we will carry out more such visits.

Ports: Police

Russell Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what discussions he has had with Home Office Ministers on reductions to UK Border Agency funding for police posts at Stranraer port.

Michael Moore: I regularly discuss a range of matters with ministerial colleagues including issues around an appropriate Common Travel Area policy for Scotland.

State Visits: Vatican

Gemma Doyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what discussions he has had with the Scottish Executive on the forthcoming Papal visit.

Michael Moore: My officials are, and have been, in close and ongoing touch with officials in the Scottish Government and also other Government Departments to ensure that the visit proceeds smoothly.

State Visits: Vatican

Gemma Doyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what arrangements have been made for the visit of Pope Benedict XVI to Scotland.

Michael Moore: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office, in liaison with the Holy See, have led on all the arrangements for the Papal visit. As part of the visit to Scotland, Pope Benedict will be received at the Palace of Holyrood House by Her Majesty the Queen.

State Visits: Vatican

Gemma Doyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland whether officials in his Department will be permitted to attend official events comprising part of the Papal visit during working hours.

Michael Moore: I will attend the reception being held at Holyrood House and I will be accompanied by one of my Private Office staff. The Scotland Office Director and one of the Deputy Directors have also been invited to attend. No other officials are formally attending the official events. Applications from staff for leave of absence to attend official events will be considered in the usual way.

State Visits: Vatican

Gemma Doyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland when he last met Cardinal Keith O'Brien to discuss the forthcoming Papal visit.

Michael Moore: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office are leading on all arrangements for the papal visit. FCO officials and Lord Patten, the Prime Minister's Personal Representative on all matters pertaining to the visit, are in regular contact with the Scottish Catholic Bishops Conference.

WOMEN AND EQUALITIES

Departmental Billing

Philip Davies: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities how many payments to suppliers were made by the Government Equalities Office  (a) within 30 days of,  (b) over 30 days after,  (c) over 60 days after and  (d) over 90 days after the date of invoice in the latest period for which figures are available.

Lynne Featherstone: The Government Equalities Office calculates prompt payment statistics from the date the invoice is received within the Department and not from the actual date of the invoice. On this basis the latest figures we have available are as follows:
	
		
			  August 2010 
			   Number 
			 Total number of invoices received 81 
			 Total paid within 30 days 81 
			 Total paid at over 30 days 0 
			 Total paid at over 60 days 0 
			 Total paid at over 90 days 0

DEFENCE

Aircraft Carriers

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether the electromagnetic catapult system designed for the Queen Elizabeth class aircraft carriers will be capable of launching Dassault Rafale M.

Peter Luff: On current plans, the Queen Elizabeth (QE) class aircraft carriers do not have an electro-magnetic catapult system in their design, as their initial configuration is for the operation of Short Take Off and Vertical Landing (STOVL) aircraft. The US has developed the Electro-Magnetic Aircraft Launch System (EMALS) for their CVN-78 programme. The adaptable nature of the QE class design would enable the fitting of an electro-magnetic catapult in the future, should that become a UK requirement; this would be capable of launching a number of aircraft types, including the Rafale M.
	The Strategic Defence and Security Review (SDSR) will define the future shape and role of the armed forces and the equipment that they will need.

Armed Forces: Gloucester

Richard Graham: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many  (a) men and  (b) women were recruited to each service through the Armed Forces Careers centre in Gloucester in each of the last five years.

Andrew Robathan: The number of personnel recruited through the armed forces careers office in Gloucester over the last five years, broken down by gender, is presented in the following table.
	
		
			   Royal Navy  Army  RAF 
			  Financial year  Male  Female  Male  Female  Male  Female 
			 2005-06 40 1 80 7 15 6 
			 2006-07 47 4 99 11 23 6 
			 2007-08 45 3 68 5 57 13 
			 2008-09 51 6 74 7 93 15 
			 2009-10 65 4 76 5 59 14

Armed Forces: Housing

Rehman Chishti: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what steps he plans to take to improve service accommodation for soldiers and their families.

Andrew Robathan: The Department will look at whether there is scope to refurbish the armed forces' accommodation from efficiencies within the Ministry of Defence.

Armed Forces: Housing

Kris Hopkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much his Department has paid to  (a) local authorities in council tax and  (b) Annington Homes in rent for empty properties in the defence housing estate in each of the last five years.

Andrew Robathan: The amount the Ministry of Defence (MOD) pays in council tax and rent for empty Service family accommodation properties, which are normally only empty for short periods between occupants, is not separately identifiable from that for other properties.
	The MOD will always be required to hold a management margin of empty properties in order to ensure that homes are available for entitled Service families when required and to allow for major improvement works to take place.

Armed Forces: Housing

Kris Hopkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many  (a) service family accommodation units and  (b) single living accommodation units have been classified as unfit for occupation in each of the last five years.

Andrew Robathan: All currently occupied accommodation is considered to be of a habitable standard.
	Sometimes accommodation units are unable to be occupied for various reasons including demolition or major refurbishment. Our records do not separately identify such units from other unoccupied accommodation.

Armed Forces: Housing

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many units of accommodation for UK armed forces personnel there were in Germany at the latest date for which figures are available.

Andrew Robathan: There are 13,316 single living accommodation bed-spaces and 11,664 service family accommodation properties in Germany.

Armed Forces: Manpower

Karl McCartney: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many members of the armed forces have been serving for 10 years or more.

Andrew Robathan: As at 1 April 2010, the latest date for which tri-service data are available, there was an estimated 77,260 personnel who have served for 10 years or more.

Armoured Fighting Vehicles

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  which companies have re-bid for the Warrior Capability Sustainment programme;
	(2)  what recent estimate he has made of the total cost to the public purse of the Warrior Capability Sustainment programme.

Peter Luff: The total value of the Warrior Capability Sustainment Programme (WCSP) cannot be confirmed until Main Gate approval has been obtained, which is likely to be early next year. Only at that point is the Department in a position to define, with confidence, the level of performance we can deliver, at what cost, by when and at what level of risk.
	BAE Systems Global Combat Systems and Lockheed Martin UK have resubmitted their tenders for the WCSP.

Atomic Weapons Establishment: Manpower

John Woodcock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many staff are employed at the Atomic Weapons Establishment sites in  (a) Aldermaston and  (b) Burghfield.

Peter Luff: Atomic Weapons Establishment plc employs 4,230 staff at the Aldermaston site and 340 staff at the Burghfield site. These numbers are full-time equivalent staff employed on 27 August 2010 and are rounded to the nearest 10.
	In addition some 2,000 staff are employed by contractors at these sites.

AWE Aldermaston: Fires

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what steps were taken to protect  (a) Atomic Weapons Establishment (AWE) Aldermaston,  (b) emergency service personnel and  (c) members of the public from asbestos contamination arising from the fire at AWE Aldermaston on 3 August 2010; and what steps were taken to investigate potential asbestos contamination in the area surrounding the site of the fire.

Peter Luff: Asbestos was known to be present in the structure of the building, so, while dealing with the incident, Atomic Weapons Establishment (AWE) Fire and Rescue crews and other emergency services wore the appropriate personal protection equipment.
	A 600 metre cordon was set up around the building, which was judged by the emergency services to afford adequate protection to the public from any potential hazard.
	Since the fire, thorough sampling, both on- and off-site, has not detected any asbestos outside the building, so the asbestos contamination is assessed to have been limited to within the building itself. As a result, there was no risk to AWE staff or members of the public. The asbestos that was found in the building is being dealt with in accordance with established safety procedures.

AWE Aldermaston: Fires

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence which fire brigades attended the fire at the Atomic Weapons Establishment Aldermaston on 3 August 2010; how many firefighting personnel attended; and how many fire appliances attended.

Peter Luff: The Atomic Weapons Establishment (AWE) Fire and Rescue Service (FRS) attended with four fire appliances: two fire tenders, one ambulance and one fire response vehicle. The 11 AWE fire service personnel in attendance carried out the necessary fire fighting activities.
	Royal Berkshire FRS attended and took the primary operational role after being fully briefed by AWE FRS of the situation, with AWE FRS then providing a support role. Hampshire FRS, the London Fire Brigade and the Defence Fire Risk Management Organisation also attended.
	The total number of fire service personnel attending the incident peaked at 95, at the time of the change in shift. The number of fire appliances present peaked at 20.

AWE Aldermaston: Fires

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence on what date and at what time the Atomic Weapons Establishment (AWE) Aldermaston notified the Royal Berkshire Fire and Rescue Service of the fire at AWE Aldermaston on 3 August 2010.

Peter Luff: The Atomic Weapons Establishment (AWE) Fire and Rescue Service were notified on 3 August 2010 at 9.06 pm. Royal Berkshire Fire and Rescue Service were notified by AWE on 3 August 2010 at 9.08 pm and put on stand-by. The AWE Fire and Rescue Service requested that the Royal Berkshire Service attend at 9.23 pm.

AWE Aldermaston: Fires

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence for what reason the AWE Off-Site Contingency Arrangements were not activated to direct the response to the fire at the Atomic Weapons Establishment Aldermaston on 3 August 2010.

Peter Luff: The Atomic Weapons Establishment off-site emergency plan was not put into operation because this plan covers an incident where radioactivity is present, and there was no release of radioactive material.
	The plans that were implemented were those relating to the conventional explosives area where the fire occurred. As an explosives licensed facility, its emergency plan is regulated by the Hazardous Installations Directorate, part of the Health and Safety Executive.

AWE Aldermaston: Fires

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will place a copy of each document provided by AWE plc of written instructions and advice to firefighting personnel attending incidents at the Atomic Weapons Establishment in the Library.

Peter Luff: AWE plc does not produce separate written instructions and advice for firefighting personnel attending incidents. As part of the Defence Fire Risk Management Organisation, the Atomic Weapons Establishment (AWE) Fire and Rescue Service (FRS) is required to comply with instructions issued by the Home Office, the Health and Safety Executive and the Ministry of Defence.
	The Royal Berkshire Fire and Rescue Service has its own plans and documentation in respect of AWE sites at Aldermaston and Burghfield, and engages regularly with colleagues in the AWEFRS.

AWE Aldermaston: Fires

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many incidents at the Atomic Weapons Establishment Aldermaston have resulted in attendance of the Royal Berkshire Fire and Rescue Service in each year from 2006 to 2010; and on what dates each such incident occurred.

Peter Luff: Since 2006, there have been four events at the Atomic Weapons Establishment (AWE) Aldermaston site where the Royal Berkshire Fire and Rescue Service (RBFRS) has been requested to attend. In addition, there have been three events where RBFRS acted as a stand-by resource while the AWE Fire and Rescue Service attended the event. These are summarised in the following table:
	
		
			  Date  RBFRS involvement  Event 
			 3 August 2010 Attendance Fire in explosives facility 
			 9 January 2009 Attendance Welding steel frame caused adjacent timber cladding and wall insulation fire 
			 20 July 2007 Attendance Pumping of flood water from medical building 
			 17 October 2006 Attendance High voltage equipment smoking and smell of burning 
			 22 July 2006 Stand-by Vehicle fire 
			 29 June 2006 Stand-by Small fire in a container during decommissioning operations 
			 19 March 2006 Stand-by False alarm

Civil Servants: Redundancy Pay

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many Transport Regiment Royal Logistics Corps personnel are covered by the Civil Service Compensation Scheme.

Andrew Robathan: All Ministry of Defence civilian personnel are covered by the civil service compensation scheme.
	There are 128 civilian posts within the nine Royal Logistic Corps Transport Regiments.

Cyprus: Armed Forces

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many  (a) one-bedroom,  (b) two-bedroom,  (c) three-bedroom and  (d) four-bedroom properties are owned by his Department in Cyprus.

Andrew Robathan: These are the following number of service family accommodation properties in Cyprus:
	
		
			  Bedrooms  Number 
			 One 2 
			 Two 519 
			 Three 1,301 
			 Four 364 
		
	
	Under various improvement initiatives, some 240 of these properties will be demolished by March 2011.

Departmental Billing

Stewart Hosie: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what proportion of invoices from suppliers his Department paid within 10 days of receipt in July and August 2010.

Andrew Robathan: Since 1 May 2010 the Department began measuring performance against a target of payment within five working days, instead of the 10 day target that was introduced in October 2008.
	Data available against the new target is published on the MOD's website
	www.mod.uk
	and provided in the following table:
	
		
			  Percentage of invoices paid within five days of receipt 
			   % 
			 July 2010 95.36 
			 August 2010 96.56

Departmental Fines

Stewart Hosie: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many transport-related fines his Department has settled on behalf of its staff in each year since 2005; and what the cost to the public purse was in each such year.

Andrew Robathan: There is no requirement to hold centrally details of fines incurred by Ministry of Defence officials while driving service vehicles; this information could, therefore, be provided only at disproportionate cost. Officials are, however, personally liable for the payment of any such fines, which are usually paid by the Department and then recovered from the individual. Only in exceptional circumstances, such as the death or retirement of the official, might it be impossible to recover such costs.

Future Large Aircraft

Ben Wallace: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the maximum lift capacity of the A400M will be for the UK purchased fleet.

Peter Luff: The UK A400M aircraft has been specified to carry a payload of 32 tonnes.

Navy: Museums and Galleries

Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  for what purpose the National Museum of the Royal Navy was established;
	(2)  what the objectives are of the co-ordinating role for the National Museum of the Royal Navy in respect of  (a) the Royal Naval Museum, Portsmouth,  (b) the Royal Marines Museum, Southsea,  (c) the Royal Navy Submarine Museum, Gosport and  (d) the Fleet Air Arm Museum, Yeovilton;
	(3)  for what reason the National Museum of the Royal Navy was created as the sole corporate trustee of the Royal Naval Museum, Portsmouth; and if he will make a statement.

Andrew Robathan: holding answer 8 September 2010
	The Government welcome the establishment of the National Museum of the Royal Navy (NMRN) as a registered charity and company limited by guarantee. The Department and the Royal Navy looks to the NMRN for leadership on naval heritage matters; and to ensure that the full range of our naval heritage assets are managed and employed in a coherent manner.
	The NMRN is classed as a non-departmental public body (NDPB), therefore as an NDPB, the questions raised by the hon. Member are a matter for the National Museum's director general.

Navy: Museums and Galleries

Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  for what reason  (a) the National Museum of the Royal Navy and  (b) his Department, on behalf of HMS Victory have indicated an intention to withdraw from common ticketing arrangements for admission to Portsmouth Historic Dockyard;
	(2)  what assessment he has made of the effect on  (a) the Mary Rose Trust,  (b) the Portsmouth Naval Base Property Trust and  (c) the Warrior Preservation Trust of the withdrawal of existing common ticketing arrangements; and if he will assess the (i) advantages and (ii) disadvantages of a takeover of the three trusts by the National Museum of the Royal Navy.

Andrew Robathan: holding answer 8 September 2010
	For over a year the Ministry of Defence (MOD), together with the National Museum of the Royal Navy (NMRN), has been exploring with partners in Portsmouth Historic Dockyard how best to develop a new governance construct for the Historic Dockyard that builds on the strengths of the current arrangements, reflects current realities and provides a strong base for handling future challenges. As part of this process of change, the NMRN and the MOD have announced their intention to withdraw from the current arrangements.
	The assessment of any change within the governance structure of the Portsmouth Historic Dockyard is a matter for the boards of trustees of the individual attractions. I would certainly hope that the individual museums will be able to reach agreement with the National Museum on a new construct, and I understand a process of dialogue is continuing. Each trust is free to make its own decision on the nature of future arrangements in the Dockyard.

Navy: Talybont-on-Usk

Roger Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many properties the Royal Navy rents in Talybont-on-Usk, Powys; and if he will make a statement.

Andrew Robathan: There are two properties rented by the Royal Navy in Talybont-on-Usk, Powys.

RAF St Mawgan

Stephen Gilbert: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what plans he has for future flying activities at RAF St Mawgan.

Nick Harvey: Ministry of Defence (MOD) flying activity ceased at RAF St Mawgan in 2008. The airfield was sold to Cornwall county council and now operates as Newquay Cornwall airport. There are no flying units located at the residual RAF St Mawgan site and MOD has no plans to conduct routine flying operations from the site for the foreseeable future.

Trident

John Woodcock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  how many staff are employed on the Trident Value for Money review;
	(2)  how much has been spent to date on carrying out the value for money review of Trident; and what estimate he has made of the final cost.

Andrew Robathan: Two members of staff are employed full time on the Trident Value for Money review, with a number of other Ministry of Defence staff providing significant input to the review within the scope of their existing posts.
	As at the end of August, the total cost of both officials assigned full time on the Trident Value for Money review is approximately £70,000. The final staff cost is estimated to be approximately £120,000.
	In addition, there has been some expenditure on external assistance and technical consultancy for the Value for Money review and linked aspects of the Strategic Defence and Security Review. It has not been possible, in the time available, to determine the precise amount attributable to the Trident Value for Money review and I will write to the hon. Member in due course.

EDUCATION

Building Schools for the Future Programme

Edward Balls: To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will publish the advice he received from officials of his Department on his decision on the Building Schools for the Future programme.

Nick Gibb: Information relating to internal discussion and advice is not normally disclosed and I do not intend to do so on this issue.

Building Schools for the Future Programme

Vernon Coaker: To ask the Secretary of State for Education whether an estimate has been made of costs which will be incurred in the future by local authorities on Building Schools for the Future projects that will not now go ahead; what representations he has received from local authorities on the matter; whether he plans to provide compensation to local authorities for such costs; and if he will make a statement.

Nick Gibb: holding answer 15 July 2010
	 The costs incurred by individual local authorities and schools in preparing for Building Schools for the Future are not held centrally. The costs vary for local authorities depending on how they have chosen to manage their BSF projects and the stage they had reached. The Secretary of State has received representation from a number of MPs, local authorities and stakeholders. There are no plans to compensate local authorities for any costs incurred.

Building Schools for the Future Programme: Merseyside

Bill Esterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education 
	(1)  what plans he has for the building projects at  (a) Chesterfield High School and  (b) Crosby High School;
	(2)  what plans he has to complete phase two of the Aintree Davenhill School building project.

Nick Gibb: holding answer 28 June 2010
	On 5 July, the Secretary of State announced a major overhaul of capital expenditure on schools spearheaded by the capital review led by Sebastian James. To ensure that buildings are built on budget and on time, and to ensure that a higher proportion of capital investment gets rapidly to the front line, the announcement included the ending of a major part of the Building Schools for the Future (BSF) programme. BSF developments are being maintained for three groups of schools:
	those in a local authority area's initial BSF scheme where Financial Close has been reached;
	the first projects due to be taken forward in a local authority area where Financial Close has not been reached but where very significant work has been undertaken, to the point of appointing a preferred bidder at "close of dialogue"; and
	some schools with planned projects subsequent to their authority's initial scheme-projects with Outline Business Cases approved before 1 January 2010.
	This means that the projects at Chesterfield High School and Crosby High Special School have stopped. Aintree Davenhill School is a primary school, and BSF did not fund projects at primary schools. The Primary Capital Programme funds primary school projects, and its operation is different from BSF's-local authorities prioritise funds that the Department for Education allocates.
	Sefton was allocated £9.6 million for 2008-11. According to information provided by the local authority, the first phase of Aintree Davenport is a £2 million refurbishment funded from its Primary Capital Programme allocation and which is due to be finished this year. The Department for Education does not hold information relating to subsequent phases of this project; it is for the local authority to make decisions about its priorities for primary investment.
	Plans for future Government funding for primary schools will be included in the capital review announced on 5 July 2010 by the Secretary of State.

Departmental Pay

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how much was paid in bonuses to civil servants in his Department in 2009-10.

Michael Gove: The Department for Education was created on 12 May 2010. In the predecessor Department for Children, Schools and Families £1.98 million was spent on non-consolidated performance pay in 2009-10. This represents 1.4% of the 2009-10 pay bill with 1,434 (52%) of staff receiving a non-consolidated performance payment. The average non-consolidated performance payment for senior civil service staff (97) was £8,732 and £851 for departmental staff (1,337).
	All employees are eligible for non-consolidated performance payments, subject to strict criteria. Senior civil service non-consolidated payments are determined as part of a central performance management framework managed by the Cabinet Office. Payments for other grades are subject to the pay remit process and reflect previous pay settlements. Non-consolidated performance payments have to be re-earned each year and do not add to future pay bill costs (e.g. pensions).

Departmental Reorganisation

Iain Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what his estimate is of the cost to the public purse of the re-branding of his Department  (a) on the latest date for which figures are available and  (b) in total.

Michael Gove: The renaming of the Department for Education cost £5,250.

Primary Education: Curriculum

Edward Balls: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what his policy is on the introduction of a new primary school curriculum in September 2011; and what recent representations he has received on such a curriculum.

Nick Gibb: As I announced in my statement at oral questions on Monday 7 June, the Government do not intend to proceed with the changes to the primary curriculum that the previous Government had proposed for introduction in September 2011. We have had a number of representations about such a curriculum. As our document "The Coalition: our programme for government" makes clear, we intend to allow schools more freedom over the curriculum: we believe that the approach which the previous Government proposed was too prescriptive in terms of how teachers should teach. We were also deeply concerned about the proposed move away from teaching distinct subject disciplines at primary level.
	We want to ensure that our national curriculum is a properly international curriculum that reflects the best collective wisdom we have about how children learn, what they should know and how quickly they can grow in knowledge. We want to arrive at a simple core, informed by the best international practice, which will provide a minimum entitlement for pupils and which can act as a benchmark against which parents can ask meaningful and informed questions about progress. We will announce our detailed plans for reviewing the curriculum in the autumn.

Schools: Information and Communications Technology

Tom Blenkinsop: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what plans he has for the Harnessing Technology grant; and if he will make a statement.

Nick Gibb: The Harnessing Technology grant is being reduced by £100 million in the current financial year. £50 million of the reduction has been used to provide capital for Free Schools as announced on 18 June. A further £50 million is the result of the 5 July announcement on End Year Flexibility (EYF), and is to address inherited spending commitments for 2010-11, where funding was reliant on under-spends through the EYF system or additional funding from the Reserve.

HOME DEPARTMENT

Asylum: Deportation

Pete Wishart: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what minimum notice period of the date and time of deportation her Department has set for failed asylum seekers and illegal immigrants.

Damian Green: A minimum of 72 hours (including at least two working days) must generally be allowed between informing a person of their removal directions and the removal itself. The last 24 hours of this period must include a working day. There are occasions where this will not apply which officers should consider before setting removal directions.
	Persons detained for removal should, where possible, be given access to telephone facilities to enable instruction of and allow contact with representatives.
	Instructions can be found in the public domain in chapter 60 of the Enforcement and Instruction Guidance manual which can be found on the UK Border Agency website at:
	www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/policyandlaw/guidance/enforcement

Borders: Personal Records

Robert Halfon: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many  (a) consultants and  (b) civil servants were working on the e-Borders programme in each year since 2005.

Damian Green: The ratios of consultants and independent contractors to civil servants can be found in the following table:
	
		
			   Average ratio of consultants to civil servants 
			 2005-06 2:3 
			 2006-07 3:4 
			 2007-08 3:5 
			 2008-09 2:3 
			 2009-10 2:3 
			 2010-11 (first three months) 2:4 
		
	
	The ratio of consultants and contractors to civil servants in 2010-11 is anticipated to fall further to 1:4 by October 2010.

Detainees: Children

Lisa Nandy: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department in respect of how many forced removals have children been separated from a primary carer and remained in the care of children's services departments or in private fostering arrangements in the last 10 years.

Damian Green: The UK Border Agency has a policy of not separating parents from children although it will sometimes have to deal with circumstances in which such a separation has already taken place. Information about those circumstances is not recorded centrally by the UK Border Agency and can be obtained only through examination of individual case records at disproportionate cost.

Detection Rates

Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the detection rates for  (a) burglary offences,  (b) violence against the person,  (c) murder and  (d) all reported offences were in (i) Gloucestershire and (ii) England and Wales in the most recent year for which figures are available.

James Brokenshire: The available information relates to detection rates for offences recorded by the police and is given in the table.
	From 1 April 2007 the rules governing recording of non-sanction detections were revised to reduce the scope within which they can be claimed to a very small limited set of circumstances. This has significantly reduced the number of non-sanction detections which has been reflected in the overall detection rates.
	Detection rates are a ratio of crimes detected in a period to crimes recorded in a period. They are not based on tracking whether individual crimes recorded in a period have eventually been detected.
	Figures for the category of 'homicide' are provided rather than for murder. When a victim of homicide is discovered it is not always possible at the time of recording to determine whether the offence is one of murder or manslaughter.
	
		
			  Detection rates for selected offences in Gloucestershire and England and Wales, 2009-10 
			  Detection rates 
			   Gloucestershire  England and Wales 
			  Offence  All detections  Sanction detections  All detections  Sanction detections 
			 Burglary 17 17 13 13 
			 Violence against the person(1) 46 46 45 44 
			 Homicide(2, 3) 120 120 91 86 
			 All offences 30 30 28 28 
			 (1 )Including offences of homicide. (2 )Includes offences of murder, manslaughter and infanticide. (3 )Offences detected in the current year were initially recorded in an earlier year and for this reason the percentage exceeds 100.

DNA: Databases

Damian Collins: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if she will take steps to end the retention of  (a) DNA samples and  (b) fingerprints of those arrested for but not convicted of an offence; and if she will make a statement.

James Brokenshire: holding answer 6 September 2010
	We are determined to ensure that the National DNA Database only contains the DNA of those who should be on it, including those who have been convicted but whose DNA was not previously taken.
	The Government will bring forward proposals in the Freedom Bill later this year to end the indefinite retention of DNA and fingerprints taken from those not convicted of crime. We will achieve this by adopting protections similar to those offered by the Scottish model for DNA retention, under which DNA from those not convicted is only held in the case of serious offences-and then only for a limited period. DNA and fingerprints taken in respect of a minor offence will not be retained at all for those who are not convicted.

DNA: Databases

William Bain: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people are registered on the national DNA database.

James Brokenshire: As at 30 June 2010, there were 6,261,470 DNA profile records on the National DNA Database (NDNAD) taken by all UK police forces, which relate to an estimated 5,378,663 individuals. At the same date, there were 5,859,508 profile records taken by police forces in England and Wales, which relate to an estimated 5,042,201 individuals.
	The number of individuals is estimated because a proportion of DNA profiles held on the NDNAD are replicates, that is a person's profile has been loaded on more then one occasion, for example because a person gave different names on separate arrests. The presence of these replicate profiles on the NDNAD does not impact on the effectiveness and integrity of the database.
	The data provided are management information and have not been formally assessed for compliance with the Code of Practice for Official Statistics.

Domestic Violence: Immigrants

Michael Crockart: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much funding has been allocated for women with no recourse to public funds to seek refuge from domestic abuse after the end of the pilot period in August 2010.

James Brokenshire: A Home Office pilot project for victims of domestic violence with no recourse to public funds commenced in November 2009 and was scheduled to run to the end of August 2010. On 16 July, the Home Secretary announced an extension to the pilot until the end of March 2011 with funding to support it.
	The Home Office has allocated over £1.9 million to support the pilot in 2010-11. Costs of the pilot are subject to the number of eligible referrals received and so total costs for the period after August 2010 will not be known until its completion. The Government have also committed to finding a long term solution to this issue.

Firearms: Smuggling

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the security arrangements in place intended to prevent arms smuggling in the UK.

Damian Green: The UK Border Agency enforce the prohibitions and restrictions on the importation of arms into the UK, working closely with the Serious Organised Crime Agency and police forces, with whom they share information and intelligence. They also collaborate on operations to disrupt smuggling attempts and to follow up detections of firearms.
	In the last two years (2008-09 and 2009-10) the Border Agency has met its published target to increase its firearms seizures by 10% year on year. In 2009-10, that meant there were 296 seizures of firearms and stun guns totalling 870 items and 56 seizures of gun parts and ammunition totalling 3,325 items. Seizure statistics for previous years are contained in HM Revenue and Customs Annual Reports.
	The UK Border Agency also work with HM Revenue and Customs and other agencies to enforce export licensing controls on arms.
	The latest UK National Threat Assessment (UKTA) on organised crime describes and assess the threats posed to the UK by organised criminals and considers how these threats may develop, including in relation to firearms. The UKTA 2009-10 states that there is no evidence that firearms are trafficked into the UK on a significant scale.

Forensic Science: DNA

Tracey Crouch: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate has been made of the number of convictions that could be overturned as a consequence of being based on low copy number DNA; and if she will make a statement.

James Brokenshire: It has never been the case that convictions have been based solely on the DNA evidence, including that obtained through the low copy number technique.
	In November 2006 the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) set up a multi-agency group to consider and oversee reanalysis of all low copy number samples analysed by the FSS prior to September 2005, this was referred to as Operation Cube. Under this operation the police service and Forensic Science Service (FSS) Ltd identified 4,841 samples that required re-analysis. The FSS undertook this work, free of charge, and 885 new DNA profiles were obtained. These profiles related to 342 criminal investigations across a range of crime. The results of the re-analysis have been reported to police forces and they have taken action based on these results. There were 15 cases with the potential for new and significant lines of inquiry.
	Only two of the 15 cases have resulted in prosecution and conviction. In both cases the re-analysed DNA evidence was made available to the defence. But in neither case did DNA play a significant part. One conviction was quashed under appeal, through evidence unconnected to DNA. An appeal in the other case was unsuccessful and I am advised that, although the DNA analysis reinforced earlier findings, the DNA evidence as a whole had a very limited impact upon the judgment. In one other case, the re-analysis led to the elimination of persons previously suspected of, but not charged with, the crime.

Identity Cards: Compensation

Meg Hillier: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when she expects to publish the level of compensation payable to companies involved in the development of identity cards whose contracts  (a) have been and  (b) will be terminated.

Damian Green: Negotiations with the companies involved in the development of identity cards are ongoing and are currently planned to conclude by end of September 2010.
	On conclusion of the negotiations, the Department will consult with the affected suppliers and Home Office colleagues regarding the decision to publish details of compensation sums payable.

UK Border Agency: Patrol Craft

Pete Wishart: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what illegal goods have been seized by the UK Border Agency as a result of coastline patrols in each of the last five years; and what estimate she has made of the monetary value of such goods.

Damian Green: Illicit goods with the following approximate values have been detected by cutter activity in UK and international waters the last five years:
	
		
			  £ 
			  2006  
			 Cocaine 4.5 million 
			   
			  2007  
			 Cocaine 30 million 
			   
			  2008  
			 Cocaine 10 million 
			 Cannabis 4 million 
			   
			  2009  
			 Amphetamine 2 million 
			 Cannabis 150,000 
			   
			  2010( 1)  
			 Cocaine 15 million 
			 (1 )To date. 
		
	
	This amounts to approximately 16.5 tonnes of controlled drugs. In addition, in the same period, cutters have seized in excess of 7 million cigarettes, 40 firearms, over 200 other prohibitions including paedophile material, in excess of £700,000 under the Proceeds of Crime Act and in excess of £15 million in unpaid value added tax.

Vetting

Damian Hinds: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what guidance she issues to police forces on  (a) policy and  (b) practice on the retention of information on persons cleared of criminal charges and the subsequent disclosure of such information in enhanced Criminal Records Bureau checks.

Lynne Featherstone: Information relating to an arrest for a recordable offence, together with the subsequent outcome, is recorded on the police national computer (PNC). This includes both 'not guilty' verdicts and decisions taken by the police or Crown Prosecution Service to take no further action against an individual. It is currently the policy of the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) to retain this information for 100 years from the subject's date of birth.
	Any intelligence or information deemed necessary for policing purposes is recorded in local police records. Such information is recorded and retained in accordance with the statutory code of practice on the management of police information
	www.npia.police.uk/en/15088.htm
	Operational guidance supporting the code states that records should be reviewed and disposed of when there is no longer a policing purpose for retaining them. This decision is the responsibility of the chief police officer, as the data owner. Part 5 of the Police Act 1997 requires that all information held in police records must be considered for disclosure. If, in the opinion of the chief police officer concerned, the information is considered relevant to the post applied for and ought to be included on the certificate, then it must be disclosed. Information on persons cleared of criminal charges may be disclosed on this basis, but is not routinely disclosed on a CRB enhanced disclosure.
	The Government have indicated that they intend to review the criminal records regime. Terms of reference for the review are under consideration and a further announcement will be made by Ministers in due course.

ENVIRONMENT FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS

Food Labelling

Henry Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what plans her Department has to amend the food labelling standards for which it is responsible; and if she will make a statement.

Caroline Spelman: The Government have made a commitment to clear and honest food labelling. Our food labelling standards work remains focused on protecting consumers and enabling them to make informed choices, as well as ensuring a level playing field to promote the competitiveness of our food industry.

Sustainable Agriculture

Roger Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what discussions her Department has had on a strategy for sustainable agriculture in England; and if she will make a statement.

James Paice: Our objective is to support British farming and encourage sustainable food production. Environmentally sustainable farming is essential to protect the natural resources on which future food production depends, and to protect biodiversity and the countryside. Economically sustainable farming is essential for having a thriving farming industry. Strategic priorities are set out in the Structural Reform Plan and we will be elaborating on our sustainable agriculture objectives as we develop our departmental business plan in October.

Agricultural Wages Board

David Hamilton: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what plans she has for the future of the Agricultural Wages Board.

James Paice: I refer the hon. Member to the statement made by the Secretary of State on 22 July 2010, regarding the changes to arm's length bodies, which, as part of the Government's Structural Reform Plan, made clear that the Agricultural Wages Board, and the 15 Agricultural Wages Committees, would be abolished.

Agriculture: Regulation

Simon Hart: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent discussions she has had on reducing the regulatory burden on farmers; and if she will make a statement.

James Paice: We are very aware of the need to reduce burdens on farmers, increase competitiveness and trust in business and maintain standards. The Task Force on Farm Regulation, appointed in July, will consider how to reduce regulatory burdens, and deliver risk-based and integrated compliance and inspection. It will consider all regulation that bears on farmers, including hill farmers, and have started a wide consultation to understand which issues cause farmers most concern.

Animal Products: Imports

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps her Department has taken to monitor the entry of imported animal products and cloned animal products into the food chain.

James Paice: The rules governing the importation of animal products including meat, milk and genetic material are laid down in EU legislation. Each consignment must come from an approved establishment (food for human consumption) or an approved collection centre (genetic material) in an approved third country, be accompanied by animal health and public health certification as appropriate and enter the EU through a Border Inspection Post where veterinary checks are carried out to ensure that import conditions have been met.
	The EU health certification does not require information to be provided on whether the product or genetic material is from a clone or the progeny of a clone. However, EU rules do not apply to imports of cloned embryos, which must be licensed under National legislation.
	The Government are mindful of the concerns surrounding this emerging technology. EU Agriculture Ministers have collectively asked the European Commission to produce a detailed report on cloning by the end of 2010 and this will provide a proper basis for evidence-based decision making at EU level. We will be looking carefully at the Commission's report as we consider this issue further.

Cattle: Cloning

Eilidh Whiteford: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what mechanism her Department has put in place to record and trace cloned cattle and their descendants.

James Paice: Cattle identification and traceability requirements are harmonised and defined by EU law and are designed to protect human and animal health. There are no requirements to identify cattle as clones or descendants of clones.
	However, the Government are mindful of the concerns surrounding this emerging technology. EU Agriculture Ministers have collectively asked the European Commission to produce a detailed report on cloning by the end of 2010 and this will provide a proper basis for evidence-based decision making at EU level. We will be looking carefully at the Commission's report as we consider this issue further.

Cattle: Cloning

Eilidh Whiteford: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what regulations her Department has put in place in respect of cattle clone embryo and sperm imports.

James Paice: The rules governing the importation of bovine genetic material (embryos and semen) are laid down in EU legislation. Each consignment must come from an approved collection centre in an approved third country, be accompanied by animal health certification and enter the EU through a Border Inspection Post where veterinary checks are carried out to ensure that import conditions have been met. The EU health certification does not require information to be provided on whether the genetic material is from a clone or the progeny of a clone.
	EU rules do not apply to imports of cloned embryos, which continue to require a licence under The Importation of Embryos, Ova and Semen Order 1980 as amended.
	However, the Government are mindful of the concerns surrounding this emerging technology. EU Agriculture Ministers have collectively asked the European Commission to produce a detailed report on cloning by the end of 2010 and this will provide a proper basis for evidence-based decision, making at EU level. We will be looking carefully at the Commission's report as we consider this issue further.

Circuses: Animal Welfare

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  what assessment she has made of the responses to her Department's consultation on the use of wild animals in circuses;
	(2)  when her Department plans to respond to its consultation on the use of wild animals in travelling circuses.

James Paice: My Noble Friend Lord Henley is currently considering the large number of responses (over 12,000) to the previous Administration's public consultation exercise on the use of wild animals in travelling circuses. As part of this exercise, he has recently met representatives of animal welfare organisations and the circus industry. Once all the different aspects of this issue have been considered within this Department, we will need to consult within Whitehall. We hope to be in a position to make an announcement on our proposed way forward later in the autumn.

Environmental Stewardship Scheme

Hilary Benn: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what requirement there is on her Department to make payments for the whole period of an entry level stewardship or higher level stewardship agreement once it has been signed; and what the standard length of such agreements is.

James Paice: Provided that the conditions for payment are respected by the agreement-holder, the Department is obliged by contract law to make payments for the whole period of an Entry Level Stewardship (ELS) or Higher Level Stewardship (HLS) agreement. Agreements that run beyond 2015 are subject to review in 2012 because under the current legal framework, the EU Commission (which part funds the payments) does not have legal authority to make payments beyond that point. The standard length of ELS agreements is FIVE years. The standard length of HLS agreements is 10 years.

Fisheries: Scotland

William Bain: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps she plans to take in discussions at EU level to address the future sustainability of the fisheries industry in fishing communities in Scotland.

Richard Benyon: The specific management of fisheries in Scotland is a devolved matter. However the UK shares the Commission's ambition for radical reform of the common fisheries policy to achieve healthy fish stocks, a prosperous fishing industry and a healthy marine environment.
	The priorities for reform are for simplified and de-centralised decision making, moving away from the micro-management of fishermen's activities; a properly designed system of rights-based management that will give fishermen the freedom to engage in rational economic activity and applied to all, with safeguards for certain parts of the fleet where necessary; greater integration of fisheries with other marine policies, with fisheries no longer isolated from other marine users; and an end to the wasteful practice of discarding fish, with reform providing the incentives and regulatory framework to enable us to catch less but land more of it, for example replacing landing based quota with catch quotas.

Food Standards Agency

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs for which functions of the Food Standards Agency she has responsibility.

James Paice: On 20 July 2010 the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs took over responsibility for policy on food labelling and composition in England, when this is not related to food safety or nutrition, from the Food Standards Agency in England. Responsibility for these policy areas in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland remain the responsibility of the Food Standards Agency in those countries, but arrangements are being considered separately by the devolved Administrations.

Food: Labelling

Mike Freer: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the Government's policy is on proposals at EU level to include the provision of information on food labelling about methods of animal slaughter.

James Paice: The Government are still considering its position on this and the other amendments to EU food labelling regulations proposed by the European Parliament.

Food: Labelling

Mike Freer: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what discussions she has had on the effects on faith communities in the UK of proposals at EU level on the requirement of labelling of food from animals which have not been stunned prior to slaughter.

James Paice: No discussions have taken place to date on this specific requirement proposed by the European Parliament.

Food: Safety

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when she last met the Secretary of State for Health to discuss food safety matters.

James Paice: Food safety matters remain the responsibility of the Food Standards Agency. The Secretary of State would therefore discuss these with the agency's chair or chief executive.
	The Secretary of State and I met the chair, deputy chair and chief executive of the Food Standards Agency on 8 July.

Gangmasters Licensing Authority

David Hamilton: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the running costs for the Gangmasters Licensing Authority were in each of the last five years.

James Paice: The running costs for the Gangmasters Licensing Authority in each of the last five years is set out in the following table.
	
		
			  £000 
			   Expenditure  Income from fees  Net running costs( 1) 
			 2005-06 2,687 - 2,687 
			 2006-07 2,910 1,367 1,543 
			 2007-08 3,271 1,375 1,896 
			 2008-09 4,098 1,529 2,569 
			 2009-10 4,125 1,271 2,854 
			 (1) Net running costs compiled from expenditure less income from fees.  Source: Gangmasters Licensing Authority Annual Report and Accounts.

Gangmasters Licensing Authority

David Hamilton: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what plans she has for the future of the Gangmasters Licensing Authority.

James Paice: DEFRA is examining its network of arm's length bodies, including the Gangmasters Licensing Authority, in line with the Government's commitment to making substantial reforms, increasing accountability and reducing cost. Further announcements will be made in due course.

Rural Payments Agency

Mark Spencer: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what plans she has for the future operation and efficiency of the Rural Payments Agency.

James Paice: In my written statement of 20 July,  Official Report, column 9WS, I reported on the findings of an independent review of the Rural Payments Agency. That statement also set out my priorities for future action in meeting the agency's key challenge, namely to deliver a better quality of service, while reducing operating costs so that both farmers and taxpayers get a better deal. Subsequently, an interim chief executive (Richard Judge) has been appointed and he attended the first meeting of the new Agency Oversight Board that I chaired on 9 August. Through that Board I will be working to ensure that the independent review recommendations are carefully considered and action is taken.

Timber: EU Law

Zac Goldsmith: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what timetable she has set for the implementation in the UK of the EU Due Diligence Regulation on timber.

James Paice: Informal agreement was reached on the EU Timber Due Diligence Regulation in July; the regulation will now be formally adopted at a Council in the autumn. Once formal agreement has been reached, member states will then have 27 months to implement the regulation. We will seek to implement the regulation efficiently, in consultation with a wide range of interested parties and non-governmental organisations, whilst ensuring that we put in place an effective, robust and proportional enforcement regime which will send a strong message that illegal timber has no place on the UK market.

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

Afghanistan: International Assistance

David Miliband: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the answer of 20 July 2010,  Official Report, column 189W, on Afghanistan: international assistance, what the evidential basis is for his statement that ISAF has no allocated funds for microgrants.

William Hague: Although there has been reporting which indicates that International Security Assistance Force money has been used as micro-grants, this refers to US funds. The US embassy in London has confirmed that the micro-grants of $92,394 were US Commander Emergency Response Projects funded and so my original reply stands.

Aung San Suu Kyi

Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions he has had with the Government of Burma on the detention on Aung San Suu Kyi; and if he will make a statement.

David Lidington: The continued detention of Aung San Suu Kyi, who has spent 15 of the last 21 years as a prisoner, is a deliberate policy by the military regime to isolate her from her supporters and to prevent a legitimate expression of the will of the people of Burma. Her sham trial in 2009, which extended her house arrest by a further 18 months, highlights the regime's fear of her influence as a credible political leader. My hon. Friend Jeremy Browne raised Burma at the EU-ASEAN meeting on 26 May 2010, at which the Burmese Foreign Minister was present. He made clear that the continued detention of political prisoners including Aung San Suu Kyi is unacceptable. Our ambassador in Rangoon repeatedly raises the need for the release of all political prisoners, including Aung San Suu Kyi, with ministers in the Burmese military government and will continue to do so.

Chen Guangcheng

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions his Department has had with the Government of China on the case of Chen Guangcheng since July 2010; and if he will make a statement.

Jeremy Browne: We have regularly raised Chen Guangcheng's case with the Chinese authorities. We last raised the case at the EU/China human rights dialogue on 29 June as part of an individual case list. We continue to monitor this case closely, and are in regular contact with his lawyer.

COE Parliamentary Assembly

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs who the members are of the UK Delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe; when he expects a new UK delegation to be appointed; and if he will make a statement.

David Lidington: The current members of the UK delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) are as follows:
	Lord Prescott
	Lord Anderson
	Mr John Austin
	Mr Tim Boswell
	Lord Chidgey
	Mr Christopher Chope
	Mr James Clappison
	Ms Ann Clwyd
	Mrs Claire Curtis-Thomas
	Mr Nigel Dodds
	Earl of Alexander Dundee
	Mr Bill Etherington
	Mr Nigel Evans
	Mr Paul Flynn
	Baroness Gale
	Mr John Greenway
	Mr Michael Hancock
	Mr Oliver Heald
	Mr Doug Henderson
	Mr Jim Hood
	Baroness Knight
	Mr Bob Laxton
	Mr Denis MacShane
	Mr Khalid Mahmood
	Mr Humfrey Malins
	Mrs Christine McCafferty
	Mr Alan Meale
	Mr Mark Oaten
	Mr Edward O'Hara
	Mr Paul Rowen
	Lord Tomlinson
	Mr Robert Walter
	Mrs Betty Williams
	Mr David Wilshire
	The rules of PACE state that:
	"Following parliamentary elections, the national parliament concerned ... shall make appointments to the Assembly within six months of the election. If the national parliament cannot make all such appointments in time for the opening of a new ordinary session of the Assembly, it may decide, for a period of not more than six months after the election, to be represented in the Assembly by members of the existing delegation."
	A new delegation will be named when the Government receive names from the Labour party.

EU Enlargement

Mark Pritchard: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what the Government's position is on  (a) Albania,  (b) Kosovo,  (c) Serbia and  (d) Macedonia joining the European Union.

David Lidington: The Government firmly support EU membership for all the countries of the Western Balkans region, once they meet the EU's robust membership criteria. Enlargement of the EU will help to create stability, security and prosperity across Europe on a firm foundation of democracy, the rule of law and shared values. The prospect of EU membership is an opportunity for the governments and citizens of the Western Balkans to entrench stability and prosperity and turn the page on the difficult chapters of the past. It requires concrete steps to meet the criteria set by the EU in a genuine merit-based process.
	This autumn, the European Commission will publish its opinion on Albania's application for EU membership. It will also issue progress reports for Serbia, Macedonia and Kosovo, detailing the progress made in their relationship with the EU and where further reform is still required. The Government will continue to encourage all countries of the Western Balkans to show sustained effort and political leadership in overcoming problems and implementing the reforms required to meet the criteria for membership.

Indonesia: Foreign Relations

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what his most recent assessment is of UK relations with Indonesia; and if he will make a statement.

Jeremy Browne: UK relations with Indonesia across a range of shared priorities are strong bilaterally, through the EU and in our partnership in multilateral forums such as the G20 and UN. We are determined to strengthen relations yet further as part of our initiative to enhance engagement with the world's emerging powers. As the fourth most populous country in the world, with strong democratic institutions and a fast growing economy, Indonesia is taking a larger role on the world stage. The UK is the third largest investor in Indonesia. There is a regular flow of ministerial and senior official visitors in both directions. There were six UK ministerial level visits to Indonesia in 2009, Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa visited London for the Afghanistan Conference in January 2010 and I met senior Ministers in Jakarta in July 2010.

Iran: Nuclear Power

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what his most recent assessment is of the development of Iran's nuclear programme.

Alistair Burt: We continue to be greatly concerned about Iran's nuclear programme. The Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has issued a number of reports on Iran, all making clear that Iran had shown no sign of suspending its enrichment-related activities and continued to stockpile uranium, as required by six UN Security Council Resolutions (UNSCRs) and numerous IAEA resolutions. The estimates in his May 2010 report showed Iran had produced 2,427 kg of low enriched uranium since the start of operations in February 2007, and that Iran had also produced a total of 5.7 kg of uranium enriched to nearly 20%, a significant step towards weapons grade enrichment.

Pope Benedict XVI

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent progress has been made on arrangements for the visit to the UK of Pope Benedict XVI; and if he will make a statement.

Henry Bellingham: The Government have been working closely with the Catholic Bishops' Conferences of England and Wales and of Scotland on arrangements for Pope Benedict XVl's visit, which are now well in hand.
	We greatly look forward to Pope Benedict's visit. The Holy See is a valuable partner on many of the foreign policy and international development issues that most affect citizens worldwide. These include tackling poverty, tackling climate change, and preventing and resolving conflict. This visit offers an important opportunity to strengthen ties between the UK and the Holy See on these issues.

Serbia: EU Accession

Denis MacShane: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the prospects for Serbia's accession to the EU; and if he will make a statement.

David Lidington: The Government fully support EU accession for all the countries of the Western Balkans region, including Serbia, once they meet the robust criteria set by the EU for membership. Serbia has the capacity and potential to make good progress towards meeting these criteria, if it chooses to do so.
	Following the latest report of the Chief Prosecutor of the International Criminal Tribunal for former Yugoslavia (ICTY) in June 2010, EU member states noted that Serbia had maintained the level of its co-operation with the tribunal and agreed to submit Serbia's Stabilisation and Association Agreement with the EU to their Parliaments for ratification. The Government continue to urge the Serbian authorities to maintain maximum effort and commitment in their ICTY co-operation, and will assess this at each stage of Serbia's accession process.
	More broadly, in order for Serbia to progress along the path to EU accession, the Government will need to be confident that it is committed to all aspects of the conditions-based accession process-including the requirements of regional co- operation-in a way which would allow all countries in the region, including Kosovo, to realise their own European perspectives.

Serbia: EU Accession

Denis MacShane: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what his policy is on the surrender of Ratko Mladic to the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia as a precondition for the commencement of accession negotiations between the EU and Serbia.

David Lidington: The UK, along with all other EU member states, has consistently made clear that achieving and maintaining full co-operation with the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) is essential for Serbia's progress towards EU membership. My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary underlined this during his visit to Belgrade on 31 August.
	Following the latest report of the Chief Prosecutor of the ICTY in June 2010, EU member states noted that Serbia had maintained its co-operation with the Tribunal and agreed to submit Serbia's Stabilisation and Association Agreement with the EU to their Parliaments for ratification.
	The Government will continue to keep Serbia's co-operation with ICTY under review, including at each stage of its EU accession process, in order to ensure that it continues to co-operate fully with the Tribunal.

Syrian Arab Republic: EU External Trade

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what the Government's policy is on EU trade with Syria.

Alistair Burt: We welcome the steps that have been made towards finalising the EU-Syria Association Agreement. The EU high representative is currently leading on discussions with Syria about signing the agreement.
	The agreement will allow us to use the EU's dialogue with Syria to pursue issues of concern, which including human rights and counter-proliferation.

Syrian Arab Republic: Foreign Relations

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what his most recent assessment is of UK relations with Syria; and if he will make a statement.

Alistair Burt: The UK has full diplomatic relations with Syria and we assess that Syria is an important player in the region. We will work to continue our firm, frank and frequent dialogue with the Government in Damascus. However, we remain concerned about the human rights situation in Syria, and about reports of Syrian facilitation of weapons to Hezbollah. I have made these concerns known to my Syrian counterpart during my visit to the region in July.

Syrian Arab Republic: Nuclear Power

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what the Government's policy is within the International Atomic Energy Agency on inspection of Syria's nuclear programme.

Alistair Burt: The UK strongly supports the International Atomic Energy Agency's (IAEA) investigations on Syria and welcomes the latest report by the director general. It is important that Syria co-operates fully with this international body and ensures that the IAEA can complete its investigations.

INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Departmental Buildings

Matthew Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much office space per employee his Department occupied in each year since 1997.

Stephen O'Brien: The following figures indicate the average density per employee for the combined net internal area (NIA) of our London and East Kilbride offices. We are not able to provide this information prior to our move to 1 Palace street in 2001.
	
		
			   NIA per head 
			 2003 16.46 
			 2004 16.37 
			 2005 15.23 
			 2006 15.85 
			 2007 16.44 
			 2008 17.55 
			 2009 17.31 
			 2010 16.25

Departmental Consultants

Alun Cairns: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what the  (a) average and  (b) highest daily rate paid to consultants by his Department was in each of the last five years.

Stephen O'Brien: The Department for International Development does not hold consultancy rates on a central register. To gather this information would incur disproportionate cost.

Departmental Furniture

Matthew Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many chairs his Department has purchased in each year since 1997; how much it spent in each such year; and what the five most expensive chairs purchased in each such year were.

Stephen O'Brien: We are unable to provide this information without incurring disproportionate cost.

Wines

Matthew Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much his Department spent on wine in each year since 1997.

Stephen O'Brien: It is not possible to provide the requested information without incurring disproportionate cost.
	Any such expenditure is incurred in accordance with the principles of Managing Public Money and the Treasury handbook on Regularity and Propriety.

WORK AND PENSIONS

EU Agency Workers Directive

Stephen McPartland: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment he has made of the likely effects on employers of the EU Agency Workers Directive coming into force.

Edward Davey: I have been asked to reply.
	An impact assessment (IA) on the agency workers regulations was published when they were laid by the previous Government in January 2010. This considered a range of possible dynamic and financial effects on business. The IA noted that higher costs associated with hiring temporary agency workers may manifest themselves in terms of price (wages) and/or quantity (number of agency workers hired) adjustments, and that the nature of the effect is likely to vary by sector or occupation.

Poverty: Wales

Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether his Department has forecast the effect of the proposals in the 2010 Budget on levels of  (a) child and  (b) pensioner poverty in (i) Wales and (ii) the Bridgend County Borough Council area in each of the next five years.

Justine Greening: I have been asked to reply.
	The Budget announced a package of reforms to tackle unaffordable spending and support the most vulnerable as set out on page 34 of the Red Book. Measures announced at Budget will have no measurable impact on child poverty over the next two years.
	Estimates of the impact of Budget tax and benefit measures on the number of children in relative poverty are only available at the UK level, as lower geographical disaggregations do not provide sufficiently robust results. Estimates post 2012-13 are not available due to greater uncertainty surrounding longer term economic forecasts underpinning the modelling.
	The Budget announced reforms to the uprating rules for the basic state pension. The earnings link for basic state pension will be restored from April 2011, with a triple guarantee that it will increase by the highest of earnings, prices or 2.5%, benefiting 11 million pensioners in the UK. CPI will be used as the measure of prices, but the Government will increase the basic state pension in April 2011 by at least the equivalent of RPI. In 2011, in the event that the basic state pension is increased by more than earnings, under the terms of the triple guarantee, the Government's intention is that, as a minimum, single pension credit recipients will benefit from the full cash value of this increase. These changes will have a positive impact on pensioners' incomes.

DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER

Alternative Vote: Referendums

Wayne David: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what discussions he had with the First Minister of Wales on the date of the referendum on the alternative vote prior to 5 July 2010.

Ben Wallace: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what representations he has received from the devolved Administrations on the timing of the referendum on the alternative vote system.

Mark Harper: My right hon. Friend the Deputy Prime Minister and I have held no direct discussions with the First Minister of Wales on the date of the proposed referendum on the parliamentary voting system. However, the Secretary of State for Wales and the First Minister of Wales have had discussions on this issue.
	The First Minister for Scotland, the right hon. Alex Salmond MSP, wrote to the Prime Minister and the Deputy Prime Minister on 9 July regarding the proposed date for the referendum. A response was sent in July.
	The First Minister of Wales, the right hon. Carwyn Jones AM wrote to the Prime Minister and the Deputy Prime Minister on 7 July and 12 July. Mr Jones wrote again to the Secretary of State for Wales and the Deputy Prime Minister on 13 July and 5 August. Responses to these letters were sent on 21 July and 28 August.
	The First Minister and deputy First Minister of Northern Ireland, the right hon. Peter Robinson MLA and Martin McGuinness MP MLA wrote to the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland and the Deputy Prime Minister on 28 July. A response was sent on 24 August.
	Copies of all of these letters are being placed in the Library.
	It was right that we announced the Government's proposals for the referendum to Parliament first. Following that announcement, we have been working and will continue to work closely with the Electoral Commission and others to make sure that the devolved elections, the local elections in England and the referendum are run effectively on 5 May next year.

Elections

Rehman Chishti: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what elections are planned to be held on 7 May 2015 in  (a) England,  (b) Scotland, (c) Wales and  (d) Northern Ireland.

Mark Harper: The Fixed-term Parliaments Bill, introduced to Parliament on 22 July 2010, would provide for the next parliamentary general election to be held on 7 May 2015. Existing legislation provides that elections to the Northern Ireland Assembly, the Scottish Parliament and the National Assembly for Wales are scheduled to be held on that day.
	In addition there are elections scheduled in 36 Metropolitan Districts, 194 Shire Districts and 49 Single Tier (Unitary) Districts in England. A list of all the relevant Districts has been placed in the Libraries of both Houses. Four Mayoral elections are also scheduled.

Electoral Register

Rehman Chishti: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what steps he is taking to increase levels of voter registration.

Mark Harper: The Electoral Commission reported in March 2010 that the completeness of Great Britain's electoral registers remains broadly similar to the levels achieved internationally. However, we are committed to taking steps to improve levels of registration. As part of the Government's commitment to speed up the introduction of individual electoral registration we are investigating allowing electoral registration officers to compare their electoral registers against existing public authority databases to identify individuals who are not on the register and to encourage them to register.

ENERGY AND CLIMATE CHANGE

Biofuels

Elizabeth Truss: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change 
	(1)  what environmental effects his Department has identified from the use of bioliquids in  (a) electricity generation and  (b) combined heat and power;
	(2)  what assessment he has made of the merits of bioliquids produced from wastes and residues compared to those produced from virgin crops in improving sustainability and reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

Charles Hendry: holding answer 8 September 2010
	DECC commissioned a report into the comparative life cycle analysis of a number of liquid feedstocks that can be used as bioliquids. This can be found on the website of the National Non-Food Crops Centre:
	http://www.nnfcc.co.uk/metadot/index.pl?id=10478; isa=DBRow;op=show;dbview_id=2539
	This indicates that high greenhouse gas savings can be achieved in heat, electricity and transport from fuels derived from used cooking oil and we consider that these provide a more sustainable way to make renewable energy than virgin oils, offering higher greenhouse gas savings.
	The Department is conducting further work to consider how best to support technologies such as those using wastes and residues through the renewables incentives and has already held discussions with industry in order to further work and seek further evidence.
	We have launched a consultation on amendments to the renewables obligation
	http://www.decc.gov.uk/en/content/cms/consultations/ro/ro.aspx
	and will be engaging with stakeholders on changes to the renewable transport fuel obligation to ensure our incentives meet the requirements of the renewable energy directive, including the sustainability criteria for biofuels and bioliquids.
	We are working closely with other Government Departments to achieve a co-ordinated approach to the use of bioliquids across the sectors in which used cooking oil is a feedstock.

Carbon Emissions: Local Government

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change if he will take steps to ensure that local councils involve local people in implementing their carbon reduction plans.

Gregory Barker: Local authorities need to show strong leadership and accountability in cutting emissions from their own estates and operations and those arising within their areas.
	The coalition Government are currently running a programme of low carbon framework pilots to explore ways of building capacity in local authorities in support of this objective. It is important to understand what the barriers to action are and how we are best placed to overcome these together as part of Big Society. Behavioural change and the role of individuals and communities are an inherent part of this.

Carbon Emissions: Local Government

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change if he will provide additional financial and technical support for local councils to meet local carbon reduction targets.

Gregory Barker: The coalition Government are aiding local action by taking forward the local carbon framework pilots programme (LCFs) until the end of this financial year.
	The LCF programme will enable baseline work on emissions data to be undertaken, enable innovative approaches to carbon reduction to be trialled, and for technical and practical expertise to be shared between central and local government, business and communities.

Carbon Emissions: Local Government

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change if he will encourage each local council to set a cap on carbon dioxide emissions taking into account  (a) scientific evidence on the level of reductions required to avoid dangerous climate change and  (b) local circumstances.

Gregory Barker: We expect the local carbon frameworks pilot programme to encourage local initiatives to reduce emissions-without imposing central burdens on local authorities. We expect and will encourage local authorities to develop stretching ambitions on CO2 emissions. Local circumstances greatly influence what it is possible to achieve and make it inappropriate to impose rigid top down targets, though it is important to ensure there are the right governance structures in place to ensure accountability.

Coal: Subsidies

Zac Goldsmith: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what his policy is on the European Commission proposal to phase out subsidies for hard-coal industries in the EU by 2014.

Charles Hendry: The Government's main policy objective in relation to the coal industry is to ensure that the United Kingdom and the European Union are enabled to make best use of a valuable natural resource which continues to make an important contribution to security of energy supplies, where it is economically viable and environmentally acceptable to do so.
	Coal production was subject to an industry-specific state aid regime under the European Coal and Steel Community Treaty. This expired in July 2002 and was replaced by Regulation 1407/2002, which expires on 31 December 2010. The Regulation has continued to permit closure, operating and mining legacy aid. It also introduced investment aid to support qualifying projects to maintain access to reserves at potentially viable mines; such projects remain ineligible for support under the general state aid regime.
	UK coal producers received around £162 million of operating aid during 2000-02 and £53 million of investment aid during 2003-08, but the Government are not currently paying any subsidy for coal production.
	In 2009 the European Commission consulted on the post-2010 regime, stating its preference for bringing the coal mining industry within the general state aid regime. This would mean an end to operating, closure and legacy aid, while mining and other coal-related projects would become eligible in principle to receive other state aid products.
	The UK Government broadly support this objective, but also recognises the need to provide limited transitional arrangements from 1 January 2011, subject to strict closure timetables and progressive reductions in payments, for member states which have already given commitments to provide closure aid after that date.
	Closure aid is an economic and social policy measure designed to help former miners and their communities through orderly management of mine closures with support for retraining, local economic diversification, etc. It has no effect on-total coal use or related emissions levels in either the relevant member state or the EU as a whole. This is because, in broad terms, coal produced by mines receiving closure aid merely displaces coal which would otherwise be imported to meet overall demand; and because emissions from coal used for energy production, industrial processes, etc., whatever its origin, are subject to existing EU legislation (e.g. LCPD) and the EU Emissions-Trading System.

Energy Supply

Dan Byles: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change 
	(1)  what estimate he has made of the minimum number of days stock of  (a) natural gas,  (b) oil,  (c) petrol and  (d) diesel required for the UK to maintain an acceptable level of energy security;
	(2)  how many days stock of  (a) natural gas,  (b) oil,  (c) petrol and  (d) diesel are routinely stored within the UK.

Charles Hendry: The information is as follows:
	 Natural Gas
	The Government do not provide estimates of minimum stock levels of natural gas needed to maintain security of supply.
	Moreover, the UK does not have a "routine" level of gas in stock; stock levels are determined by the market. Gas companies typically build stocks progressively from around April until October/November and then draw on their stocks during winter. From 1 October 2009 to 5 September 2010, the period available, the UK held average stocks equivalent to about 10 days of consumption, with a peak of about 22 days in summer 2009, and a minimum of about one days in winter.
	 Petroleum products
	Under EU Council directive 2006/67/EC, member states of the European Union (EU) are required to hold stocks of oil and oil products equivalent to 90 days of national inland consumption. However, because the UK is a producer of crude oil its obligation is reduced by 25% to 67.5 days.
	In June 2010, the latest period for which data are available, the UK held about 91 days worth of oil and oil products.

Kyoto Protocol

Zac Goldsmith: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what recent assessment he has made of the implications for the UK of a second commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol.

Gregory Barker: Being an already established legally binding framework, the EU, and therefore the UK, has already adopted all the requirements in EU law for the next commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol. Continuing with the KP approach for a second commitment period would therefore not have any implications for the UK. However, certain elements of the KP are likely to change as the current round of UNFCCC negotiations progresses. Particularly, the mitigation target to which the UK is subject is likely to be higher than in the first commitment period, though ultimately the level will depend on the outcome of the negotiations.

Microgeneration: Finance

Richard Graham: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what incentives his Department provides to members of the public to generate their own electricity.

Charles Hendry: The Feed-in Tariff Scheme incentivises small-scale, low carbon electricity generation of up to 5MW incapacity.
	The scheme aims to deliver rates of return of approximately 5-8% for investors with both the generation tariffs and export tariffs linked to the Retail Price Index (RPI). Additionally, householders who use renewable technologies to generate electricity mainly for their own use will not be subject to income tax on their FITs revenue.

Nuclear Power: Finance

William Bain: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what the policy of his Department is on provision of subsidies for the construction of new nuclear power stations.

Charles Hendry: The coalition agreement makes clear that there will be no public subsidy for new nuclear power stations.

Nuclear Power: Insolvency

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change whether an assessment has been made of the merits of creating a special administration regime for a nuclear plant operator which becomes insolvent and is unable to maintain its nuclear plants; and whether his Department has discussed the matter with the Insolvency Service.

Charles Hendry: The Department has had discussions with the Insolvency Service over whether, in addition to the relevant provisions of the Energy Act 2008, a special administration regime for nuclear operators is required. It has concluded, for existing nuclear operators, that such a regime is not required but will keep the matter under review given the potential for new nuclear build.

Nuclear Power: Scotland

Fiona O'Donnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what recent assessment he has made of the contribution of the Scottish nuclear energy industry to  (a) energy security and  (b) carbon dioxide reduction targets.

Charles Hendry: holding answer 8 September 2010
	The Department does not assess the contribution of nuclear power to energy security and carbon dioxide reduction on a sub-national basis.
	Sub-national electricity statistics, including nuclear generation in Scotland, are published annually in Energy Trends. The latest figures are available at:
	http://www.decc.gov.uk/en/content/cms/statistics/publications/trends/trends.aspx
	These show that in 2008, nuclear stations in Scotland generated 15.1 TWh of electricity (around 4% of total UK generation).

Nuclear Reactors: Thorium

Julian Huppert: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what recent assessment his Department has made of the use of thorium-based nuclear reactors.

Charles Hendry: holding answer 8 September 2010
	DECC officials maintain an oversight of developments in future reactor designs and thorium continues to be a possibility for use as a fuel in nuclear power reactors. This involves the Department working with technical experts both from industry and academia and in this respect I am making arrangements to host a meeting with Professor Ian Fells to explore topics of this nature.
	Ultimately it is for the industry to propose what type of fuel to use in any future nuclear reactors, the designs of which would be subject to independent regulatory assessment and acceptance. At present the UK safety and environment regulators are undertaking a generic design assessment process on two new nuclear reactor designs that use uranium oxide fuel. No proposals have been made for reactor designs using thorium based nuclear fuel, but we would of course consider a proposal if one was to come forward.

Renewable Energy: Feed-in Tariffs

Neil Parish: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what progress his Department is making in establishing a full system of feed-in tariffs for small-scale low-carbon electricity technologies.

Gregory Barker: The feed-in tariff scheme (FITs) for small scale low carbon electricity (up to 5MW) has been in place since April 2010. As we set out in the Coalition programme for government, we are committed to establishing a full system of FITs in electricity. As part of this, we are currently looking at features of the FITs scheme to see what changes we may need to make.

Renewable Energy: Finance

Chris Heaton-Harris: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change if he will bring forward proposals for the support of renewables from funds raised by means other than taxation.

Charles Hendry: The Renewables Obligation (RO) and Feed-in Tariffs (FITs) for the support of renewable electricity generation are already funded direct by electricity suppliers, rather than from taxation. However, it is important to note that these mechanisms impact on consumers' bills, so we need to make sure that we deliver value for money in supporting renewables by whatever means.

Renewable Energy: Local Government

Michael Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what expressions of interest he has received from local authorities following the removal of restrictions on local authorities selling renewable electricity to the grid; and whether there will be any restriction on how such revenue can be spent.

Charles Hendry: Seven local authorities have sent emails to the address provided in the Secretary of State's recent letter announcing the removal of restrictions on their sale of electricity from renewable sources.
	There will be no restriction on how local authorities may spend the resulting revenue, as long as it fits within their remit as authorities.

HEALTH

NHS Commissioning Board

Tony Baldry: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how the NHS Commissioning Board will differ from existing strategic health authorities in their healthcare commissioning role.

Simon Burns: Strategic health authorities (SHAs) are currently responsible for commissioning some highly specialised services. However, the majority of national health service health care is commissioned by primary care trusts (PCTs). The role of SHAs has primarily been one of system and performance management, supporting PCTs in their commissioning capacity, promoting choice and competition as well as monitoring NHS provider trusts.
	As set out in the White Paper "Equity and Excellence: Liberating the NHS" the Government intend to create a more autonomous and accountable NHS-with greater clarity about the roles and responsibilities of different organisations for provision and commissioning. The proposed NHS Commissioning Board will therefore be responsible for ensuring an effective and transparent system of NHS commissioning which drives improvements in quality of patient care and health outcomes, maximises opportunities for patients to exercise choice and is underpinned by effective patient and public engagement.
	The majority of NHS health care will in future be commissioned by consortia of general practitioner (GP) practices. The Commissioning Board would hold GP commissioners to account for outcomes and financial management rather than for delivering top-down, process-driven targets.
	The Commissioning Board will also have direct responsibility for commissioning those services which it would be less appropriate for GP consortia to commission. We propose that this will include all specialised services, including those currently commissioned by PCTs, as well as primary care, prison health and maternity services. It would have no responsibilities in relation to NHS providers (such as hospital trusts), other than in relation to those services it is directly responsible for commissioning.

Ambulance Services: South West

Richard Graham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the cost to the Great Western Ambulance Service of the relocation of its headquarters to Chippenham has been.

Mr Burns: The information requested is not collected centrally.
	However, the hon. Member may wish to contact the Great Western Ambulance Service NHS Trust direct for more information.

Cancer: Eyes

Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of the time taken for people diagnosed with eye cancer to be seen by a consultant; what steps he is taking to reduce the time; and if he will make a statement.

Paul Burstow: No estimate has been made of the time taken for people with eye cancer to be seen by a consultant. The statistics held centrally do not distinguish between different types of head and neck cancer as a result. In the last period for which statistics are available (Quarter 1 2010-11), 96.1% of patients with suspected head and neck cancer, including cancers of the eye, were seen within two weeks of referral from primary care.
	As part of the of the Cancer Reform Strategy (CRS) review, we are examining the cancer waiting times commitments put forward in the Cancer Plan (2000) and the CRS (2007). This is to ensure they remain clinically appropriate and focus on what is most important to patients and their families. We aim to publish an updated strategy in the winter.

Departmental Public Consultation

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps he is taking to increase the involvement of young members of the public in the making of decisions that effect them by  (a) Ministers in his Department,  (b) officials in his Department and  (c) public bodies which fall within his Department's area of responsibility.

Simon Burns: The Department is committed to ensuring that the public have the opportunity to participate in shaping and developing policy, and always undertakes to seek the views of those who are likely to be affected by changes of policy and groups representing them.
	As part of this commitment, the Department subscribes to the Government Code of Practice on consultations. This makes clear that consultation exercises should be designed to be accessible and effectively targeted. Where relevant this would include younger people and thought is always given to whether alternative versions of consultation documents should be produced which could be used to reach a wider audience.
	A copy of the Code of Practice has already been placed in the Library and is available online at:
	http://www.bis.gov.uk/files/file47158.pdf
	We have engaged and continue to engage with children and young people on a range of issues in a number of ways. For example, the Department is in regular contact with YoungMinds, a voluntary sector organisation that deals specifically with the mental health issues of children and young people. YoungMinds have established a group called Very Important Kids who contribute their views through their regional networks into how mental health services for young people can be improved.

Diabetes: Drugs

William Cash: To ask the Secretary of State for Health for what reasons the recommendation of the Commission on Human Medicines on the diabetes medication Avandia was not implemented throughout the NHS; and if he will make a statement.

Simon Burns: Avandia (rosiglitazone) is licensed on a Europe-wide basis by the European Medicines Agency (EMA), not directly by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA). In response to emerging evidence, it has been necessary to review the balance of risks and benefits of this medicine throughout Europe.
	To inform its input into the European debate the MHRA has conducted its own assessment of the safety of rosiglitazone and sought the advice of the Commission on Human Medicines (CHM). The CHM advised in July 2010 that the risks of rosiglitazone outweigh its benefits and that it no longer has a place on the United Kingdom market. In addition, the CHM considered action should be taken promptly and ideally within the appropriate European Union framework.
	Emerging data on rosiglitazone have been evaluated, and updated advice, including new restrictions on use and warnings, has been issued to prescribers, via the Drug Safety Update bulletin. Following the CHM advice in July, the MHRA contacted health care professionals to provide clear advice on the need to closely follow the current prescribing advice regarding the use of rosiglitazone and to consider alternative treatments where appropriate.
	The MHRA is contributing to the current European assessment of the balance of risks and benefits of rosiglitazone, which is anticipated to conclude this month.

Drugs: Generic Substitution

Wayne David: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  when his Department will publish its response to the consultation on proposals to implement generic substitution in primary care further to the Pharmaceutical Price Regulation Scheme 2009;
	(2)  how many responses to his Department's consultation on proposals to implement generic substitution in primary care further to the Pharmaceutical Price Regulation Scheme 2009 were in favour of Option 1 of the three options presented.

Simon Burns: Responses to the consultation are currently being considered. In accordance with the 'Code of Practice on Consultation', a summary of responses and the Department's response to the consultation, including next steps, will be published soon. The summary of responses will specifically address how many responses were in favour of the three options presented.

Epilepsy: Nurses

Catherine McKinnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many specialist epilepsy nurses  (a) left the NHS and have not been replaced,  (b) were reassigned to other inpatient duties and  (c) were in positions which are under review since 22 June 2010.

Paul Burstow: Information on the number of specialist epilepsy nurses that have left the national health service and not been replaced, were reassigned to other in-patient duties, and were in positions which are under review, are not collected centrally. Local health bodies have responsibility for commissioning services to meet the needs of those living with epilepsy, this includes the recruitment of specialist nurses.

Gender Recognition

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether the choice of treatment and provider in some mental health services referred to on page 52 of the White Paper, Equity and Excellence: liberating the NHS, will apply to gender identity services; and whether commissioning for gender identity services will fall under the responsibility of the new NHS Commissioning Board.

Paul Burstow: The introduction of choice of treatment and provider in some mental health services will begin from April 2011, and this will be extended wherever practicable. As set out in the White Paper, the NHS Commissioning Board will have responsibility for commissioning specialised services, which will include gender identity services.

General Practitioners

Tony Baldry: To ask the Secretary of State for Health with reference to his Department's proposals for GP commissioning, who will be responsible for the funding of GP-led health centres.

Simon Burns: Our overarching principle is that commissioning decisions should, wherever possible, reflect the views of local clinicians and the local public. Under the proposals set out, our NHS White Paper: "Equity and Excellence: Liberating the NHS", an NHS Commissioning Board will be responsible for commissioning primary care services for registered patients, whilst general practitioner (GP) consortia will be responsible for commissioning urgent care. The responses to the consultation on Commissioning for Patients, as part of the wider proposed changes in the White Paper, will enable us to proceed to set out the full details of how GP-led commissioning will work. We urge anyone who has any concerns to respond to the consultation by 11 October.

General Practitioners: Finance

Tony Baldry: To ask the Secretary of State for Health with reference to his Department's proposals for GP commissioning, what penalties practices will be required to pay in year  (a) one and  (b) two of actual budgets if they overspend.

Simon Burns: Under the proposals in the White Paper, the responsibility for managing commissioning budgets will rest with general practitioner (GP) commissioning consortia, rather than with the individual practices that make up a consortium. The White Paper and the consultation document on 'Commissioning for Patients' seek views on the proposal that a proportion of GP practice reward should, however, be linked to the performance of its consortium, both in terms of the outcomes that the consortium achieves for patients and in terms of its financial performance. These arrangements will be developed following discussion with the British Medical Association in the light of consultation responses.

General Practitioners: Finance

Tony Baldry: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether GP practices will be reimbursed for rent under his Department's plans for GP commissioning; and what his policy is on the funding of primary care premises.

Simon Burns: The arrangements for reimbursement of general practitioner premises costs are set out in "The NHS Premises Costs Directions 2004". This document has been placed in the Library, and the move to NHS Commissioning Board responsibility for contracting with primary care would not alter these arrangements.

General Practitioners: Prescriptions

Tony Baldry: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether GP practices will be permitted to dispense prescriptions under the new arrangements for GP commissioning.

Simon Burns: General practitioner practices currently provide dispensing services to their patients under arrangements set out in the NHS (Pharmaceutical Services) Regulations 2005.
	The proposed reforms in the White Paper, "Equity and Excellence: Liberating the NHS", would not in themselves affect dispensing practices any differently from non-dispensing practices.

Haemophilia Alliance

Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the terms of reference are for the programme of bi-annual meetings between his Department and the Haemophilia Alliance; and if he will make a statement.

Anne Milton: The terms of reference for the bi-annual meetings between the Department and the Haemophilia Alliance are as follows:
	to share information between the United Kingdom Health Departments and the Haemophilia Alliance and consult on all aspects of treatment and care relating to inherited bleeding disorders;
	to ensure there is effective communication between patient representatives, health and social care professionals, and policy officials on health and social care matters of mutual interest and concern;
	to ensure links are developed between this group and other groups responsible for advising Government on blood safety issues; and
	in fulfilling the above, the group recognises that health is a devolved matter, and therefore policy and practice may vary in different parts of the UK.
	Two meetings have been held so far and the next one will be held in November 2010.

Health Professions: Insurance

Gordon Banks: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he expects to be in a position to respond to the Finlay Scott Review on indemnity insurance as a condition of registration for health care professionals.

Simon Burns: Finlay Scott has delivered his report "Independent review of requirement to have insurance or indemnity as a condition of registration as a healthcare professional" to the Secretary of State and other United Kingdom Health Ministers. This was published on the Department's website on 14 July, at:
	www.dh.gov.uk/en/Publicationsandstatistics/Publications/PublicationsPolicyAndGuidance/DH_117454
	The Government welcome the report which contains a comprehensive appraisal of the issues and clear recommendations. The report requires careful consideration and we intend to publish a substantive response in due course, after Ministers in all four UK countries have had the opportunity to consider its content.

Health Services: Learning Disability

Tom Clarke: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what steps his Department is taking to improve standards of health of people with a learning disability; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  what steps his Department is taking to improve the training of NHS healthcare professionals for interacting with patients with a learning disability; and if he will make a statement;
	(3)  how many people with a learning disability received an annual health check in each year since 2008;
	(4)  when his Department plans to respond to Professor Jim Mansell's report Raising our Sights; and if he will make a statement;
	(5)  what steps his Department is taking to increase the number of learning disability liaison nurses; and if he will make a statement;
	(6)  whether the new NHS Commissioning Board referred to in the Health White Paper will require GP consortiums to provide annual health checks for people with a learning disability;
	(7)  what steps his Department plans to take to ensure that GP consortiums are able effectively to commission services for people with a learning disability;
	(8)  what progress has been made in extending the use of patients passports for people with a learning disability in the NHS; and if he will make a statement.

Paul Burstow: This Government are committed to supporting people with learning disabilities and in particular to improving health outcomes of people with learning disabilities. As our White Paper for the national health service makes clear, this Government's ambition is for health outcomes-and quality health services-as good as any in the world. And that means we are committed to providing a high quality service for everyone-especially those who are more disadvantaged and have experienced real inequity in the past.
	Like all other patients, people with learning disabilities will be at the heart of everything. They will have more choice and control to shape health services around them, enabled by easy access to the information they need and want. They (or their families and advocates) will be involved in decisions about their care and we expect NHS professionals to ensure that they fully involve people with learning disabilities and their family carers and enable them to be part of that decision-making process.
	We are pressing ahead with action to address the health inequalities which people with learning disabilities experience, especially a new confidential inquiry and Public Health Observatory. Representatives from Mencap, the National Forum for people with learning difficulties and the National Valuing Families forum are on the group scrutinising progress on these.
	Annual health check figures are now on the Improving Health and Lives: Learning Disabilities Observatory website at
	www.improvinghealthandlives.org.uk
	In 2008-09 27,011 people with learning disabilities were reported to have received a health check (23% of those people with learning disabilities known to services). In 2009-10 the number more than doubled to 58,919, (43% of those known to services). There is, though, wide variation between primary care trusts and there is still more to do. The functions of the new NHS Commissioning Board have still to be finalised pending the outcome of the consultation which closes on 11 October. But we expect that the NHS Commissioning Board will commission the family health services that general practitioners (GPs) provide.
	"Liberating the NHS: Commissioning for patients" sets out further details on the intended arrangements for GP commissioning, providing the basis for fuller consultation and engagement with primary care professionals, patients and the public. We intend that GP consortia will be responsible for commissioning the majority of NHS services, including elective hospital care and rehabilitative care, urgent and emergency care (including out-of hours services), most community health services and mental health and specialist learning disability services. Consortia will be responsible for meeting prescribing and associated costs. It will be for consortia to decide on a case-by- case basis whether to commission services themselves, or to make appropriate arrangements with another commissioning organisation (for instance a lead consortium). The NHS Commissioning Board will develop a commissioning outcomes framework which measures health outcomes. The Government are considering how the outcomes framework will measure improved health outcomes, including for people with learning disabilities.
	The Department is working through strategic health authorities (SHAs) to review and improve training for healthcare staff to ensure that they give appropriate support to people with learning disabilities. SHA Education Commissioners are taking action to review the training provision for healthcare staff and people with learning disabilities. Staff in all GP practices delivering annual health checks have had training in meeting the needs of people with learning disabilities. The Royal College of General Practitioners is due to publish additional training materials for GPs later this autumn on getting health checks right for people with learning disabilities.
	The Department is looking very carefully at the detailed recommendations set out in this report and how these support our objectives to improve outcomes for people with learning disabilities who have complex needs and their families. The elements of good service and good practice examples included in this report sit very clearly within the programme of work which government is leading to support independent living for people with learning disabilities and to support local service planning and commissioning to meet identified needs in their locality.
	The Department has encouraged NHS bodies and local authorities (LAs) to set up these posts and promoted examples of good practice in involving learning disability acute hospital liaison nurses such as the Royal Sussex Hospital in Brighton. We have also encouraged NHS bodies to use patient passports for people with learning disabilities as an important way of ensuring that their health needs are all in one place. The Learning Disability Partnership Boards have reported some good progress on improving health outcomes for people with learning disabilities.
	The national director for learning disabilities has written to all NHS and LA chief executives in July to remind them of the recommendations in the ombudsmen's report "Six lives: the provision of public services to people with learning disabilities" and to ask them to report on progress in meeting those recommendations. We will shortly publish a response on progress against those recommendations.

Health Services: Learning Disability

David Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what assessment his Department has made of  (a) trends in numbers of adults with learning disabilities and  (b) the effects of such trends on future funding requirements for services for such people; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  if he will meet representatives of the learning disability sector to discuss future funding of services for people with a learning disability; and if he will make a statement;
	(3)  what steps the Government plans to take to improve care and support services for people with a learning disability in  (a) Blaydon,  (b) the North East of England and  (c) England; and if he will make a statement;
	(4)  how much and what proportion of the  (a) adult social care and  (b) NHS budget was spent on people with a learning disability in each year since 2001; and if he will make a statement;
	(5)  how much the NHS spent on each category of its services for adults with learning disabilities in each year since 2001; and if he will make a statement.

Paul Burstow: The Centre for Disability Research (2008) predicted a sustained increase in the number of people with learning disabilities known to services, from 2009 to 2026. The research detailed a number of scenarios, based on expected levels of need and anticipated levels of eligibility criteria in local authorities. All scenarios suggest sustained growth in the need for social care services for adults with learning disabilities over the full time period. However, average estimated annual increases vary from 1.04% (lower estimate, services are only provided to new entrants with critical or substantial needs) to 7.94% (upper estimate, services are provided to new entrants with critical, substantial or moderate needs).
	The impact of these increases upon future funding requirements will depend on the ability of the social care system to deliver efficiency savings through a range of measures-including a renewed focus on preventing needs from escalating, greater personalisation, and improved community-based services to keep people independent. Future funding requirements will also depend upon decisions taken at a local level around charging policies and eligibility criteria.
	Plans to improve care and support services for people with a learning disability within Blaydon and in the North East region are a matter for local decision. We have made clear our commitment to drive forward action to improve support and outcomes for people with learning disabilities across England and to support independent living. For this year, our priorities are to improve health outcomes and support people into jobs and homes of their own.
	Gross expenditure on problems of Learning Disability from the NHS Programme Budgeting data, from 2003-04 onwards is shown as follows; we do not have data for previous years.
	
		
			   £000 
			 2003-04 2,272,971 
			 2004-05 2,355,887 
			 2005-06 2,595,671 
			 2006-07 2,494,242 
			 2007-08 2,856,102 
			 2008-09 2,929,036 
			  Source: NHS Programme Budgeting data 
		
	
	Data on local authority expenditure on state funded care is collected and published by the NHS Information Centre for health and social care.
	Table 1 following shows the gross expenditure for councils in England with Adult Social Services Responsibilities on adults aged 18 to 64 with learning disabilities as their primary client group between 2000-01 and 2008-09.
	
		
			  Table 1: Gross current expenditure for clients with a learning disability from 2000-01 to 2008-09, England( 1) 
			   Total gross current expenditure for adults aged under 65 with a learning disability  Total gross current expenditure for adult services  Percentage of total gross current expenditure for adults aged under 65 with a learning disability 
			 2000-01(2) 1,751,908 9,619,210 18 
			 2001-02(2) 1,903,991 10,111,585 19 
			 2002-03(2) 2,253,481 11,316,088 20 
			 2003-04(2,3) 2,609,441 12,483,581 21 
			 2004-05(2,3) 2,850,224 13,497,922 21 
			 2005-06(2,3) 3,110,326 14,356,579 22 
			 2006-07(2,3) 3,292,281 14,898,163 22 
			 2007-08(3) 3,453,006 15,274,794 23 
			 2008-09(3) 3,807,216 16,075,810 24 
			 (1) Expenditure figures have not been adjusted for inflation. (2) 2000-01 to 2006-07 figures include estimated Service Strategy and Asylum Seekers Assessment and Care Management apportioned to Adult Services and Children and Families Services using proportions calculated using 2007-08 data. Since 2007-08 this information has been collected separately. (3) Includes expenditure funded from the Supporting People grant that councils have classified as Social Services expenditure rather than housing expenditure. 
		
	
	I have already agreed to meet with the Learning Disability Coalition to discuss future funding of services for people with learning disability.

Infant Foods: Nurseries

Margaret Curran: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what information his Department holds on the effectiveness of the nursery milk scheme as a measure available to all children;
	(2)  what recent assessment he has made of the value for money of the nursery milk scheme;
	(3)  what discussions he has had with the Minister for Public Health on proposals to terminate the nursery milk scheme; and on what dates such discussions took place.

Anne Milton: Milk is a source of important nutrients (such as calcium) as part of a balanced varied diet for young children.
	The Department is unaware of any external studies undertaken on the value for money of the nursery milk scheme.
	My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State and I have regular discussions on a range of matters.

Members: Correspondence

David Winnick: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will arrange for the chief executive of University Hospital Birmingham to send a substantive reply to the letter of 6 July 2010 from the hon. Member for Walsall North, on a constituent, reference JM/CC/3223.

Simon Burns: The Secretary of State for Health has no powers to direct national health service foundation trusts. We have brought the hon. Member's question to the attention of the chairman of Monitor (the statutory name of which is the independent regulator of NHS foundation trusts) from whom we understand that the chief executive of University Hospital Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust has sent a further response to your letter which you should receive shortly, and that your complaint is being processed in line with the trust's complaints policy.

Mental Health Services

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether he has made a recent assessment of the level of confidence of general practitioners in the quality of secondary mental health services.

Paul Burstow: No such assessment has been made.

Mental Health Services: Children

Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many consultants are working in child and adolescent mental health services in each primary care trust; and if he will make a statement.

Paul Burstow: The number of consultants working in child and adolescent mental health services in each primary care trust (PCT) is not collected centrally.
	However, information on the various sub specialties, which may be involved in providing psychiatric services to children and adolescents, can be found in the following table showing a breakdown by PCT.
	
		
			  Hospital and Community Health Services (HCHS): Consultants in each psychiatry specialty by primary care trust-England at 30 September 2009 
			  Number (headcount) 
			Child and adolescent psychiatry  Forensic psychiatry  General psychiatry  Learning disabilities  Psychotherapy 
			 5A5 Kingston PCT 0 0 0 3 0 
			 5C1 Enfield PCT 0 0 0 2 0 
			 5CN Herefordshire PCT 2 0 9 1 0 
			 5CQ Milton Keynes PCT 3 0 9 1 0 
			 5D7 Newcastle PCT 0 0 1 0 0 
			 5F1 Plymouth Teaching PCT 5 0 13 2 0 
			 5FE Portsmouth City Teaching PCT 3 0 8 1 0 
			 5GC Luton PCT 0 0 2 0 0 
			 5HP Blackpool PCT 2 0 0 0 0 
			 5HX Ealing PCT 0 0 1 0 0 
			 SHY Hounslow PCT 0 0 0 1 0 
			 5JE Barnsley PCT 2 0 8 1 0 
			 5K8 Islington PCT 3 0 5 0 0 
			 5L1 Southampton City PCT 11 0 0 0 0 
			 5M1 South Birmingham PCT 0 0 0 7 0 
			 5MK Telford and Wrekin PCT 6 0 0 0 0 
			 5MV Wolverhampton City PCT 1 0 10 2 0 
			 5N1 Leeds PCT 6 0 0 0 0 
			 5N3 Wakefield District PCT 3 0 0 0 0 
			 5N9 Lincolnshire PCT 0 0 1 0 0 
			 5NG Central Lancashire PCT 3 0 0 0 0 
			 5NL Liverpool PCT 0 0 0 0 1 
			 5NV North Yorkshire and York PCT 7 1 30 2 0 
			 5P5 Surrey PCT 1 0 0 0 0 
			 5PE Dudley PCT 0 0 0 2 0 
			 5PL Worcestershire PCT 6 0 0 0 0 
			 5PW North East Essex PCT 0 0 0 7 0 
			 5QC Hampshire PCT 8 0 0 0 0 
			 5QD Buckinghamshire PCT 1 0 0 0 0 
			 5QM Dorset PCT 0 0 10 0 0 
			 5QT Isle of Wight PCT 0 0 12 0 0 
			 TAM Solihull Care Trust 4 0 0 0 0 
			 TAN North East Lincolnshire Care Trust Plus 0 0 9 0 0 
			  Total 77 1 128 32 1 
			  Data quality : The NHS Information Centre for health and social care seeks to minimise inaccuracies and the effect of missing and invalid data but responsibility for data accuracy lies with the organisations providing the data. Methods are continually being updated to improve data quality. Where changes impact on figures already published, this is assessed but unless it is significant at national level figures are not changed. Impact at detailed or local level is footnoted in relevant analyses.  Source: The NHS Information Centre for health and social care Medical and Dental Workforce Census

Mental Illness

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether he has made a recent estimate of the effect on life expectancy of a mental illness; and if he will take steps to seek to reduce that effect.

Paul Burstow: We have made no recent estimate of the effect on life expectancy of someone with a mental illness. However, we are aware of the body of evidence which suggests that there are increased rates in morbidity and premature mortality in those with serious mental illness. This is also true of those with common mental health disorders which coincide with increased obesity and smoking for example. We intend to address this issue in the new mental health strategy and mention of this has already been made in the new national health service outcomes framework.

Midwives: Manpower

Gordon Banks: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many midwives were employed by the NHS in  (a) 2008,  (b) 2009 and  (c) 2010.

Anne Milton: The following table shows the number of midwives, both full-time equivalent (FTE) and headcount, working in the hospital and community health services as at 30 September 2008 and 30 September 2009. Information for 30 September 2010 is not yet available; it is due to be published in March 2011.
	
		
			  NHS hospital and community health services: Qualified midwifery staff in England as at 30 September 2008 - 09 
			   2008  2009 
			  Registered midwives   
			 Headcount 25,664 26,451 
			 FTE 19,639 20,236 
			  Source:  NHS Information Centre Non Medical Workforce Census.

Midwives: Manpower

Gordon Banks: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many independent midwives there were in  (a) 2008,  (b) 2009 and  (c) 2010.

Anne Milton: The number of independent midwives is not collected or held centrally.

Motor Neurone Disease: Health Services

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment his Department has made of the merits of establishing a national strategy for motor neurone disease; and if he will make a statement.

Paul Burstow: Motor neurone disease is a long-term neurological condition; the National Service Framework for Long-Term neurological Conditions (NSF) was developed to address long-standing issues in neurological care, e.g. inequity in access to services; work force shortages and variable quality of care across the country. The NSF's quality requirements include a separate section on addressing the needs of people with rapidly progressing conditions, such as motor neurone disease, where services need to respond quickly.
	We have made no assessment of the merits of establishing a national strategy for motor neurone disease.

NHS Walk-in Centres

Frank Dobson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether proposed GP commissioning bodies will have the power to close existing NHS walk-in centres.

Simon Burns: Our overarching principle is that commissioning decisions should wherever possible, reflect the views of local clinicians and the local public. Under the proposals set out our NHS White Paper: "Equity and Excellence: Liberating the NHS", an NHS Commissioning Board will be responsible for commissioning primary care services for registered patients, while general practitioner (GP) consortia will be responsible for commissioning urgent care. The responses to the consultation on "Commissioning for Patients", as part of the wider proposed changes in the White Paper, will enable us to proceed to set out the full details of how GP-led commissioning will work. We urge anyone who has any concerns to respond to the consultation by 11 October.

NHS: Private Sector

Michael Meacher: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much income has been received from private patients using NHS hospitals and other NHS facilities since 1990.

Simon Burns: The information is shown in the following table.
	
		
			  £ million 
			   Regional and district health authorities and special authorities for the London postgraduate teaching hospitals( 1)  Health authorities( 2)  Primary care trusts( 3)  NHS trusts( 4)  NHS foundation trusts( 5)  Total 
			 2009-10 - - 2.6 190.3 223.5 416.4 
			 2008-09 - - 3.2 227.3 189.8 420.3 
			 2007-08 - - 2.9 238.4 165.6 406.9 
			 2006-07 - - 3.2 280.7 124.0 407.9 
			 2005-06 - - 2.6 295.5 98.4 396.5 
			 2004-05 - - 2.3 303.0 73.3 378.6 
			 2003-04 - - 2.6 374.7 - 377.3 
			 2002-03 - n/a n/a 366.7 - 366.7 
			 2001-02 - n/a n/a 340.8 - 340.8 
			 2000-01 - n/a n/a 316.6 - 316.6 
			 1999-2000 - n/a - 340.8 - 340.8 
			 1998-99 - n/a - 290.8 - 290.8 
			 1997-98 - n/a - 273.2 - 273.2 
			 1996-97 - n/a - 235.7 - 235.7 
			 1995-96 2.2 - - 207.4 - 209.6 
			 1994-95 5.9 - - 189.5 - 195.4 
			 1993-94 66.4 - - 109.9 - 176.3 
			 1992-93 98.8 - - 58.5 - 157.3 
			 1991-92 108.6 - - 32.3 - 140.9 
			 1990-91 107.5 - - - - 107.5 
			 '- 'Indicates that there were no organisations in the sector for the particular year. (1) Figures taken from the summarised account of regional and district health authorities and special health authorities for the London postgraduate teaching hospitals. (2) Figures for private patient income are not separately disclosed in the summarised account of health authorities. The information is not held centrally. (3) Figures taken from the primary care trust audited summarisation schedules which are only retained for seven years. Figures for private patient income are not separately disclosed in the summarised account of primary care trusts. (4) Figures taken from the summarised account of NHS trusts. (5) Figures taken from the consolidated account of NHS foundation trusts.

Obesity

Alan Keen: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will estimate the number of people registered with GPs who have a body mass index of  (a) 40 or more and  (b) 35 or more with a co-morbidity of each (i) sex and (ii) ethnic origin.

Anne Milton: The information is not available in the format requested.
	The data the NHS Information Centre holds on general practitioner-recorded adult obesity relate to the Quality and Outcomes Framework. The Quality and Outcomes Framework (QOF) includes a register of patients who have had their body mass index (BMI) recorded as greater than or equal to 30 in the last 15 months. This register only includes patients aged 16 and over. In 2008-09, (the latest period for which data have been published) the number of such patients was 4,389,964.
	Data relating to sex and ethnic origin are not available via the Quality and Outcomes Framework.
	 Notes
	1. The QOF is GP-recorded adult obesity status which is collected on behalf of the Department by the NHS Information Centre.
	2. QOF does not record the actual BMI so it is not possible to split this figure as to those with a BMI of over 40 or over 35. Sex or ethnicity data are not available via the QOF.
	3. Patients will only contribute to the figures in QOF if they are registered with a general practice participating in QOF and who visit their GP in the year in question.

Palliative Care: Finance

John Leech: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans he has for the use of  (a) patient-reported outcome measures,  (b) care plans and  (c) bereaved relative surveys in developing his Department's policy on end of life care.

Paul Burstow: The Department is currently consulting on an Outcomes Framework as part of the programme to implement the White Paper "Equity and excellence: Liberating the NHS". The Outcomes Framework will include patient-reported outcome measures and end of life care is covered in the consultation document (ref. "Transparency in outcomes-a framework for the NHS", Department of Health, 19 July 2010). A copy of the consultation document has already been placed in the Library.
	The End of Life Care Strategy highlights the importance of ensuring patients approaching the end of life and their carers have care plans. End of life care is one of the work streams in the Department Quality, Innovation, Productivity and Prevention programme. This is focussing on accelerating progression on the first steps on the end of life care pathway-identifying people who are approaching the end of life and then planning for their care, including Advance Care Planning.
	The End of Life Care Strategy made a commitment to pilot, and then roll out, a survey of bereaved informal carers, which can be used as a proxy measure for the quality of care provided to the deceased, as well as measuring the care provided to the carers themselves. This commitment is being met through the Views of Informal Carers-Evaluation of Services (VOICES) questionnaire. This has been revised to reflect the recommendations in the Strategy and a pilot is currently under way to test out how the VOICES questionnaire could be most effectively utilised in a national survey. The pilot will run to January 2011. The results from such surveys will inform local policy development.

Social Services: Finance

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will estimate the number of people using  (a) direct payments and  (b) personal budgets to fund their care who had engaged the services of agency care staff who (i) did not have relevant skills qualifications, (ii) were not subject to regulation and (iii) had not received clearance from the Criminal Records Bureau in the latest period for which figures are available; and if he will make a statement.

Paul Burstow: The Department does not hold this information.

BUSINESS, INNOVATION AND SKILLS

Apprentices

Catherine McKinnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what recent assessment he has made of the contribution of apprenticeships to the economy  (a) nationally and  (b) in the North East.

John Hayes: A report commissioned by the Department for Education and Skills in 2007 estimated that the net present value (NPV) of completing an apprenticeship is around £105,000 at Level 3, and £73,000 at Level 2. NPV captures the surplus of lifetime benefits, in terms of higher wages and employment likelihoods, over the costs of undertaking the learning, including both the resource costs to the state and the employer, as well as the value of output foregone during learning.
	The full report-"A Cost Benefit Analysis of Apprenticeships and Other Vocational Qualifications"-can be accessed at:
	http://www.education.gov.uk/research/data/uploadfiles/RR834.pdf
	A report commissioned by the Apprenticeship Ambassadors Network in 2008, found that employers recouped the cost of their investment in apprenticeship training within two to three years in the majority of cases. Employers also identified a number of longer term benefits from the training, outlined in the report.
	The full report-"'The Net Benefit to Employer Investment in Apprenticeship Training"-can be accessed at:
	http://www2.warwick.ac.uk/fac/soc/ier/publications/2008/apprenticeship_report_research_1_521.pdf
	In neither report is the analysis broken down according to region.

Apprentices

Catherine McKinnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many apprenticeships were available  (a) nationally and  (b) in the North East on the most recent date for which figures are available.

John Hayes: Apprenticeships are jointly funded by the Department for Business Innovation and Skills, and the Department for Education. In 2008/09, the latest full year for which data are available, there were 240,000 Apprenticeship starts in England and 17,200 in the north east. Final full year data for 2009/10 will be available in January 2011. In the 2010/11 academic year 131,000 16 to 18-year-old and 167,000 adult Apprenticeship starts are planned. The Government's decision to redeploy £150 million of our savings in 2010-11, creating an additional 50,000 adult places, demonstrates our commitment to high-quality employer owned Apprenticeships. We fund Apprenticeships on a national basis through the Skills Funding Agency-there are no regional or sectoral allocations.

Apprentices

Catherine McKinnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what estimate he has made of the number of persons seeking an apprenticeship  (a) nationally and  (b) in the North East.

John Hayes: Information on the total number of young people and adults seeking an Apprenticeship is not collected centrally. People may start an Apprenticeship through a variety of routes, including using Apprenticeships vacancies, the national on-line system for advertising and applying for Apprenticeship vacancies. Alternatively people may apply directly to a training provider or to an employer offering an Apprenticeship programme, or may already be employed and undertake an Apprenticeship. However from this academic year (2010/11) training providers are required to submit all Apprenticeship vacancies through the national Apprenticeships vacancies system. This does not apply where it is proposed that the Apprenticeship opportunity will be offered to a learner already employed. In the last academic year (August 2009 to July 2010) 354,000 candidates had registered to use Apprenticeship vacancies and 75,000 candidates made at least one application. A regional breakdown is not available.

Apprentices

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many higher level apprenticeship courses will be available in each constituency in the 2010-11 academic year.

John Hayes: Data on the number of higher (level 4) apprenticeships by constituency are not currently available. Aggregate information about the total number of higher apprentice starts is also not separately available at present because of the historically small number of starts at this level. Higher apprenticeships are currently included with advanced (level 3) apprenticeships and data are available through the Department for Business Innovation and Skills Statistical First Releases (SFR) by parliamentary constituency. The supplementary tables through the following link include these data:
	http://www.thedataservice.org.uk/statistics/statisticalfirst release/sfr_supplementary_tables/

Apprentices

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many people commenced an apprenticeship in  (a) 1997 and  (b) May 2010.

John Hayes: The number of Apprenticeships in 1996/97 was 75,000 last published in the Statistical First Release on the 24 Oct 2002, however this data was calculated on a different basis and therefore may not be directly comparable with later years.
	Table 1 shows the number of Apprenticeship starts for England from 2003/04 to 2008/09. 2003/04 is the earliest year for which comparable data is available and 2008/09 is the latest year for which full year data is available.
	
		
			  Table 1: Apprenticeship Programme Starts, 2003/04 to 2008/09 
			  Academic Year  Apprenticeships 
			 2003/04 193,600 
			 2004/05 189,000 
			 2005/06 175,000 
			 2006/07 184,400 
			 2007/08 224,800 
			 2008/09 239,900 
			  Note: 1 All figures are rounded to the nearest 100.  Source:  Individualised Learner Record 
		
	
	Information on the number of Apprenticeship starts is published in a quarterly statistical first release (SFR). The latest SFR was published on 24 June 2010
	http://www.thedataservice.org.uk/statistics/statisticalfirstrelease/sfr_current

Apprentices: Disability

Catherine McKinnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills 
	(1)  what steps his Department is taking to  (a) encourage take-up of apprenticeships by and  (b) broaden access to apprenticeships for people with disabilities;
	(2)  what steps his Department is taking to promote  (a) gender and  (b) racial equality in the take-up of apprenticeships in all trades.

John Hayes: Both my Department and the Department for Education are responsible for the promotion of equality of access to apprenticeships. The National Apprenticeships Service (NAS), as the body responsible for promoting apprenticeships to employers and to potential apprentices, manages its systems to ensure equal access to information about the programme and to apprenticeship vacancies. Enhanced support includes additional funding available for training providers to support learners with a learning difficulty and/or disability. A priority for NAS is to address stereotyping and under-representation across apprenticeships including gender, race and disability. NAS and the Skills Funding Agency fund apprenticeships through a wide range of training providers including specialist providers that support disadvantaged learners. NAS also work with employers to help them understand and be more responsive to the needs of under-represented groups.
	This Department regularly publishes starts, completion and success rate data for all these groups and Ofsted assess training providers on their equality and diversity support for apprentices.

Apprentices: Finance

Richard Graham: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what  (a) the total administrative cost and  (b) the (i) absolute and (ii) percentage administrative cost per apprentice of the National Apprenticeship Scheme was in 2009-10.

John Hayes: In 2009-10, the total expenditure on participation in apprenticeship training was £1,072 million, including the Department for Education's expenditure on apprenticeships for 16 to 18-year-olds. Additionally, a total of £33 million was spent on activities supporting the expansion of the Apprenticeships Programme, such as maintaining the Apprenticeship vacancies IT system, marketing and communications and piloting new delivery models.
	It is not possible to provide a meaningful average cost to the public purse of an apprenticeship. The public cost of delivering an apprenticeship varies significantly depending on the industry in which the apprenticeship framework is being delivered; length of stay on the programme; whether the framework is at Level 2 or 3; and whether the participant is in the 16 to 18, 19 to 25 or 25+ age group. For example, the Skills Funding Agency estimates that the cost of delivering a Level 2 adult apprenticeship in business and administration is around £2,700 and is £16,300 for an advanced apprenticeship (Level 3) in engineering for a 16 to 18-year-old.
	The Apprenticeship programme is administered by the National Apprenticeship Service, which was housed within the LSC during 2009-10. The total administrative cost of the LSC in 2009-10 was £247 million. Information on the proportion of this expenditure that relates to the administration of apprenticeships is not available.

Business Links

Chuka Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills if he will take steps to ensure the continuation of business advice services provided to small and medium-sized enterprises through Business Link.

Mark Prisk: This Department is committed to modernising how support, information and advice are provided to businesses. With the proposed abolition of the regional development agencies who manage the Business Link service in the regions, we are currently considering how best to deliver support to business in the future.
	Our aim is to establish a better, simpler, more cost effective system of business support delivering:
	reduced spend in light of the pressures on public finances;
	a clear focus on growth to drive recovery;
	support targeted on the businesses which would most benefit;
	more local involvement;
	best use of technology to ensure a fully modernised and cost effective approach to publicly funded business support, drawing in and complementing more extensive private sector provision.
	Whatever the final shape of the business support system, we will work with all delivery partners to ensure an orderly transition and will ensure that any changes to relevant functions and responsibilities are managed as smoothly as possible.

Departmental ICT

Pete Wishart: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills which IT contracts awarded by his Department in each of the last five years have been abandoned; and what the monetary value of each such contract was.

Edward Davey: Since the coalition Government was formed on 11 May, the Department has not yet terminated, nor been informed by its agencies, NDPBs and other partner organisations of the termination of any legally binding IT contracts with a lifetime value over £100,000. A process is currently under way to review ICT projects in line with the coalition Government's ICT moratorium guidance.
	Prior to 11 May, the information requested was not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Education: Qualifications

Andrew Griffiths: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills 
	(1)  what assessment he has made of the consultation undertaken with further education colleges by Summit Skills when developing new qualifications under the Qualifications and Credit Framework;
	(2)  what steps he takes to ensure that sector skills councils represent the views of small and medium-sized businesses when developing qualifications under the Qualifications and Credit Framework.

John Hayes: Sector Skills Councils consult with a wide range of employers and other interested parties when developing National Occupational Standards, Sector Qualifications Strategies and Action Plans; all of which allow them to decide on the vocational qualifications that then need to be developed for the Qualifications and Credit Framework in their sector.
	Sector Qualifications Strategies outline the learning and qualifications needs of employers in their sector and action plans specify where changes and new vocational qualifications are needed. Consultation is built into this process; for example, Summit Skills regularly attends further education conferences to listen to colleges' views. Awarding organisations then develop vocational qualifications and SSCs approve these before they are accredited onto the QCF to ensure that they meet the sectors' skills needs.
	National Occupational Standards underpin vocational qualifications and SSCs have specific targets for consulting with small and medium-sized enterprises when developing these standards.

Employment Agency

David Hamilton: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what plans he has for the future of the Employment Agency Standards Inspectorate.

Edward Davey: There are no current plans to make any changes to the Employment Agency Standards inspectorate (EAS). EAS will continue to investigate complaints from workers and enforce the Conduct Regulations using a risk based approach.

EU Grants and Loans

David Blunkett: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills which body will be responsible for administering European Regional Development Funding in circumstances where that funding is relevant to multi-agency and cross-local authority boundary work, and where the requirement for the funding lies clearly out with any potential local enterprise partnership boundary following the abolition of regional development agencies; and if he will make a statement.

Bob Neill: I have been asked to reply.
	My Department will continue to be the managing authority for ERDF programmes in England. We are currently considering the future arrangements for managing the programmes across England, following the abolition of regional development agencies. This will cover the management of all ERDF projects, including those which involve multi-agency work and cross local authority boundaries.

EU Grants and Loans: Blackpool

Gordon Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what assessment he has made of the effect on Blackpool of the decision to freeze further allocations of North West Development Agency funding under the current European Regional Development Fund programme.

Mark Prisk: holding answer 8 September 2010
	Funding for the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) programme is still available. We have frozen any further matched funding from the RDA Single Pot, given the in-year budget cuts and the need to manage down RDA commitments during their wind down.
	However, ERDF funding is available where it is matched by private sector or other public sector funding, and we would not expect this decision to have any adverse effect on Blackpool.

EU Grants and Loans: Blackpool

Gordon Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what the status is of funding allocated by the North West Development Agency to ongoing regeneration projects in Blackpool backed by funding allocated from the European Regional Development Fund.

Mark Prisk: holding answer 8 September 2010
	NWDA have confirmed that they will continue to fund those projects that are already contractually committed. However they will not be able to fund any project which is not yet contracted. This may affect some of the ongoing regeneration projects in Blackpool.

Graduates

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what proportion of people in  (a) Liverpool Wavertree constituency and  (b) England have graduate or higher level qualifications.

John Hayes: The following table shows the number and percentage of working age adults (men aged 19 to 64 and women aged 19 to 59) in Liverpool local authority and England that hold qualifications equivalent to NGF level 4 or above. These estimates are from the Annual Population Survey (APS) and cover the period from January to December 2009, the latest year for which data are available.
	
		
			  Table 1: Number and percentage of people aged 19-59/64 holding qualifications at NQF Level 4 or above. 2009 
			   England  Liverpool LA 
			 Working age adults at Level 4 or above 9,547,000 76,000 
			 Percentage of all working age adults 30.0% 27.1% 
			 95% Confidence Intervals +/-0.2ppts +/- 2.6ppts 
		
	
	While local authority level estimates can be calculated from the Annual Population Survey, the sample is not large enough to provide estimates for smaller geographies such as parliamentary constituencies. Furthermore, estimates for local authorities are subject to large sampling variability and should therefore be treated with caution and viewed in conjunction with their Confidence Intervals(1) (CIs), which indicate how accurate an estimate is. For example, a 95% CI of +1-2.6 percentage points (pp) means that the true value for the Liverpool estimate shown above is between 24.5% and 29.7% for 95% of cases.
	(1 )Those given are 95% confidence intervals
	It is important to note that the estimates provided here will not be comparable with estimates from the Labour Force Survey, which BIS uses to report headline measures of qualifications held within the population at national level in England. As well as being based on different time periods, the estimates from the two data sets are compiled using different methodologies. The method used to calculate the headline Labour Force Survey measure allows for known issues arising in capturing data on attainment through social surveys, but this method cannot be applied to the Annual Population Survey data. As a result, the estimates provided above potentially underestimate attainment within the population.

Minimum Wage: Work Experience

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what guidance his Department provides to businesses on their legal obligations under national minimum wage legislation in respect of unpaid interns.

Edward Davey: The Department provides guidance for businesses on national minimum wage requirements in respect of internships on the businesslink.gov website. This guidance can be found at
	www.businesslink.gov.uk/nmw

Public Sector: Procurement

Pat Glass: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills if he will take steps to ensure that small and medium-sized construction development firms in the North East have the opportunity to compete for public sector procurement contracts on an equal basis with large, national and centralised companies.

Francis Maude: I have been asked to reply.
	The Coalition Programme for Government signals the Government's commitment to small and medium-sized businesses succeeding in the public sector. The Government have set an aspiration that 25% of Government contracts should be awarded to SMEs, and has committed to publishing Government tenders in full online and free of charge.
	To make it easier for SMEs to win public sector business, the Government are also taking steps to simplify and streamline the procurement process. Which we will update Parliament on in due course.
	Government procurement policy requires that contracts be awarded through fair and open competition, in compliance with EU Treaty principles and UK regulations implementing the EU Procurement Directives. Such competitions are open to all companies regardless of size.

Unemployment: Young People

Catherine McKinnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many persons aged under 25 years are not in education, employment or training  (a) nationally and  (b) in the North East.

John Hayes: Estimates of the number and proportion of young people not in education, employment or training (NEET) in England are published quarterly by the Department for Education.
	The latest publication is available at:
	http://www.dcsf.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/STR/d000950/index.shtml
	The supplementary table giving a regional breakdown of 16 to 24-year-olds NEET, and the England total, is available at:
	http://www.dcsf.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/STR/d000950/NEET16_24.xls

Unemployment: Young People

Catherine McKinnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many apprenticeships funded from the public purse have been taken up in each financial year since the publication of the Leitch Review of Skills in 2004.

John Hayes: Table 1 shows the number of apprenticeship starts for England from 2004/05. 2008/09 is the latest year for which full year data is available.
	
		
			  Table 1: Apprenticeship programme starts, 2004/05 to 2008/09 
			  Academic year  Apprenticeships 
			 2004/05 189,000 
			 2005/06 175,000 
			 2006/07 184,400 
			 2007/08 224,800 
			 2008/09 239,900 
			  Notes: 1. All figures are rounded to the nearest 100. 2. '-' indicates a base figure of less than 50.  Source: Individualised Learner Record 
		
	
	Information on the number of apprenticeship starts is published in a quarterly statistical first release (SFR). The latest SFR was published on 24 June 2010:
	http://www.thedataservice.org.uk/statistics/statisticalfirst release/sfr_current

CABINET OFFICE

Public Sector: Pay

Gregg McClymont: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what recent estimate the Office for National Statistics has made of the proportion of public sector workers in Scotland who earn  (a) less than £21,000 per annum and  (b) £21,000 or more per annum.

Nick Hurd: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	 Letter from Stephen Penneck, dated September 2010:
	As Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question asking what recent estimate the Office for National Statistics has made of the proportion of public sector workers in Scotland who earn (a) less than £21,000 per annum and (b) £21,000 per annum and over. (14342)
	Annual levels of earnings are estimated from the Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE). and are provided for all employees on adult rates of pay, who have been in the same job for more than a year. The ASHE, carried out in April each year, is the most comprehensive source of earnings information in the United Kingdom. It is a sample of all employees who are members of pay-as-you-earn (PAYE) schemes.
	I attach a table showing the proportion of public sector employees in Scotland who earn (a) less than £21,000 per annum and (b) £21,000 per annum and over in 2009, the latest period for which figures are available. Figures arc provided for all employees and full-time employees.
	
		
			  Proportion of all and full time public sector employees( 1)  earning < £21,000 per annum and > £21,000 per annum  (£)-Scotland 2009 
			   Percentage 
			   <£21,000  >£21,000 
			 All public sector employees 46.8 53.2 
			 Full time public sector employees 28.9 71.1 
			 (1) Employees on adult rates who have been in the same job for more than a year. As at April 2009.  Source: Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings, Office for National Statistics

TREASURY

Academies: Finance

Stewart Hosie: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether enactment of the Academies Bill would have Barnett consequentials for  (a) Scotland,  (b) Wales and  (c) Northern Ireland.

Danny Alexander: Funding for the Department of Education in England will be determined in the spending review in the autumn. As education is devolved to the Scottish Executive, Welsh Assembly Government and Northern Ireland Executive, any Barnett consequentials will be determined in the spending review in the usual way.

Banks: Loans

Michael Meacher: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will establish an inquiry into the effectiveness of banks' lending practices in supporting economic recovery.

Mark Hoban: On 26 July, the Government published a Green Paper on business finance to help inform and take forward its agenda on credit and other sources of finance for businesses.
	The Government are inviting views from businesses and the financial community to suggest approaches for enhancing access to finance, including suggestions for the improvement of banks' current lending practices. The Green Paper and information about providing responses are available here:
	http://www.bis.gov.uk/businessfinance
	The deadline for responses is 20 September 2010.

Departmental Travel

Graham Evans: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much his  (a) Department and  (b) its agencies and non-departmental public bodies has spent on travel for its employees in each year since 1997.

Justine Greening: The available information on travel spending for the organisations requested is shown in the following table. Data for HM Treasury and the Debt Management Office is only available from 2002-03 due to the introduction of a new accounting system in that year. The Asset Protection Agency was created in 2009-10. The figure quoted for the Royal Mint Advisory Committee includes subsistence. Data for prior years is not available.
	
		
			  £000 
			   HM Treasury  Debt Management Office  Asset Protection Agency  Royal Mint Advisory Committee 
			 2002-03 1,333 14 n/a n/a 
			 2003-04 1,828 36 n/a n/a 
			 2004-05 1,764 22 n/a n/a 
			 2005-06 1,929 36 n/a n/a 
			 2006-07 2,079 23 n/a n/a 
			 2007-08 1,776 37 n/a n/a 
			 2008-09 1,735 48 n/a n/a 
			 2009-10 1,639 33 1 4

EU Budget

Philip Davies: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the monetary value was of the last bi-monthly payment from the UK to the EU budget.

Justine Greening: The latest UK payment to the EU Budget was made on 1 September 2010 and was £804,367,165.72.
	The Government have been leading efforts to bear down on the 2011 EU Budget. We believe that it is only fair that the EU Budget plays its part in the difficult fiscal consolidation faced by many EU member states. As the Chancellor of the Exchequer told a recent meeting of EU Finance Ministers, a freeze in EU spending levels should be considered.
	The Government are also taking steps to contain the cost of the EU Budget and when negotiations of the 2014-20 budget envelope begin (expected in the first half of 2011), the Government will strongly defend the UK's national interests and ensure that spending is focused on those areas where the EU adds value.

EU Internal Trade: Fraud

Rehman Chishti: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what steps he is taking to reduce missing trader intra-community fraud.

David Gauke: The Government have in place a comprehensive strategy to combat VAT missing trader intra-community fraud. This comprises a wide range of different activities, carried out by staff across HMRC and the United Kingdom Border Force.
	As a result, the estimate of attempted fraud has fallen from its peak of between £4 billion and £6 billion in 2005-06 to between £1.0 billion and £2.5 billion in 2008-09. The impact on VAT receipts has also substantially reduced from £2.5-£4.5 billion in 2005-06 to £1,0-£2.5 billion in 2008-09.

Members: Correspondence

David Winnick: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when his Department plans to respond to the letter from the hon. Member for Walsall North of 30 June, (reference 7/21100/2010), transferred to him from the Department for Work and Pensions.

Mark Hoban: I have replied to the hon. Member.

Minimum Wage: Enforcement

David Hamilton: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what plans he has to improve enforcement of legislation governing the national minimum wage by HM Revenue and Customs.

Edward Davey: I have been asked to reply.
	Effective enforcement of the national minimum wage (NMW) plays a crucial role in driving up compliance levels. Officials are working with HMRC to deliver a compliance strategy that ensures that enforcement is targeted on the areas where there is the greatest risk of non-compliance. To achieve this, HMRC will be testing new ways of working to focus on the most 'at risk' employers and the most 'at risk' workers. This will include piloting a triage approach to investigating complaints and making greater use of the contribution that community bodies, unions, trade associations in the low pay sectors and other interested parties can make to promoting the NMW and raising the profile of enforcement. We will also be encouraging more NMW inspection activity co-ordinated with the work of other bodies, including the Employment Agency Standards inspectorate. This will build on the joint working agreements put in place following the launch of the single Pay and Work Rights helpline last year.
	Central to our compliance strategy is the proposition that a 'one size fits all approach' is not the most effective. We will therefore continue to use a variety of tools and techniques to reach different audiences, ranging from ensuring that up-to-date, practical and accessible guidance is available, through to prosecution of the worst employers. This tailored approach to NMW compliance ensures that employers who want to comply have access to information and tools to enable them to do so and those employers who would otherwise be tempted to operate outside of the law are deterred from doing so.

NHS: Finance

Stewart Hosie: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the likely financial effect on Barnett consequentials to  (a) Scotland,  (b) Wales and  (c) Northern Ireland of proposed changes to health spending in England.

Danny Alexander: Funding for the NHS in England will be determined in the spending review in the autumn. As health policy is devolved to the Scottish Executive, Welsh Assembly Government and Northern Ireland Executive, any Barnett consequentials will be determined in the spending review in the usual way.

Public Sector: Pay

Natascha Engel: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether the public sector pay freeze for those earning over £21,000 per year will include local government craft workers whose rates of pay are governed by agreements of the Joint Negotiating Committee for Local Authority Craft and Associated Employees; and whether the £250 annual payment for public sector workers earning under £21,000 per year will be paid to such workers.

Bob Neill: I have been asked to reply.
	The pay of local government craft workers is determined by the Joint Negotiating Committee (JNC) for Local Authority Craft and Associated Employees, made up of the employers' side and the trade union side. Central Government have no role in respect of the JNC.

Tax Avoidance

William Bain: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what steps have been taken by his Department to reduce levels of tax avoidance; and how much additional tax revenue he estimates will accrue from such steps.

David Gauke: This Government are committed to tackling avoidance and intends to build in sustainable defences against avoidance opportunities when undertaking policy reform and to review areas of the tax system in which repeated changes have been necessary to close loopholes.
	HMRC's anti-avoidance strategy is based on stopping avoidance at source as far as possible, through robust legislation, early detection of avoidance schemes and engaging with taxpayers to deter them from engaging in tax avoidance.
	The disclosure of tax avoidance schemes regime forms a key part of this. It provides early information about schemes and informs efforts to prevent avoidance through legislation and operational intervention. Where avoidance is identified, HMRC responds quickly by advising the Government on legislative changes to close loopholes and by challenging avoidance schemes vigorously, including, where necessary, through litigation.
	As the emphasis of HMRC's strategy is on prevention, it is difficult to provide estimates of the total amount of tax that is protected. However, HMRC estimate that the disclosure of tax avoidance schemes regime has already helped to prevent over £12 billion in avoidance opportunities since 2004. Changes announced in the Budget will further strengthen the regime to provide HMRC with better information and make it harder for those who do not to comply.

Taxation: Business

Stewart Hosie: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer which accountancy firms have been approved by HM Revenue and Customs to conduct independent business reviews of companies seeking to defer their tax payments; and what mechanism his Department used to select these firms.

David Gauke: In a document published on its website on 8 March 2010, HMRC invited expressions of interest from industry experts who wanted to be included on the Independent Business Review Panel. The details of this invitation can be found at:
	http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/consultations/ibr-eoi.htm
	Following the expression of interest exercise a full list of the successful applicants was published on HMRC's website on the 22 April 2010:
	http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/consultations/ibr-panel.htm

Trade Unions

Priti Patel: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many 
	(1)  civil servants in his Department spent the equivalent of  (a) five days or fewer,  (b) five to 10 days,  (c) 10 to 15 days,  (d) 15 to 20 days,  (e) 20 to 25 days and  (f) 25 days or more on trade union-related activities or duties while being paid salaries from the public purse in each year since 1997;
	(2)  paid manpower hours civil servants in his Department spent on trade union-related duties and activities in each year since 1997.

Justine Greening: HM Treasury has one member of staff, Grade 7, who spends 0.60 (FTE) of time working as a trade union official.
	HM Treasury follow the ACAS Code of Practice "Time off for Trades Union Duties and Activities" when allowing other staff time off for trade union activities available at:
	http://www.acas.org.uk/index.aspx?articleid=2391.

VAT

Stephen Hammond: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  if he will estimate the sums to accrue to the Exchequer if zero rating for value added tax were removed from  (a) domestic passenger transport,  (b) newspapers and magazines and  (c) water and sewerage in (i) 2010, (ii) 2012 and (iii) 2015;
	(2)  if he will estimate the sum to accrue to the Exchequer if the exemption from value added tax of betting, gaming and the National Lottery were removed in  (a) 2010,  (b) 2012 and  (c) 2015;
	(3)  if he will estimate the cost to the Exchequer if residential property  (a) conversions and  (b) renovations were exempt from value added tax in (i) 2010, (ii) 2012 and (iii) 2015.

David Gauke: The estimated costs of VAT zero rates and exemptions are published in table 1.5 'Estimated costs of the principal tax expenditure and structural reliefs' on the HMRC website at
	http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/stats/tax_expenditures/table1-5.pdf
	This shows the broad estimated costs of the VAT zero rates on
	domestic passenger transport,
	books, newspapers and magazines, and
	water and sewerage services.
	and the VAT exemption from betting, gaming and lottery duties.
	As they are based on the current reliefs, they do not include behavioural effects were they to be removed.
	No estimates are available of the cost of exempting residential property on conversions and renovations from value added tax.
	The specific set of estimates requested could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

JUSTICE

Prisoners: Compensation

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how much compensation has been paid to prisoners in each of the last eight years; and on what grounds each payment was made.

Crispin Blunt: The following table details the total amount of compensation paid to prisoners over the last five financial years as a result of civil claims, by way of out of court settlement, or by court award. The figures exclude private establishments. Compensation figures prior to 2004-05 were not collated centrally. The grounds on which individual claims were concluded would entail the checking of more than a thousand files and would entail disproportionate cost.
	
		
			  Financial year  Type of prisoner claim  Settlement amounts (£)  Court awards (£) 
			 2004-05 Abuse/ harassment 500 0 
			  Assault by prisoner 79,409 0 
			  Assault by staff 180,408 0 
			  Injury-other 406,028 9,000 
			  Slip, trip and fall 102,975 2,750 
			  Medical negligence 1.441,500 350 
			  ODPL 0 0 
			  Other 36,825 0 
			  Property 7,015 7,540 
			  Unlawful detention 104,927 350 
			  2004-05 totals 2,359,587 19,990 
			 
			 2005-06 Abuse/harassment 7,000 0 
			  HRA-Article 5(4) 0 0 
			  HRA-Sanitation 0 0 
			  Assault by prisoner 13,270 0 
			  Assault by staff 134,750 0 
			  Injury-other 3,491,744 0 
			  Slip, trip and fall 81,678 2,500 
			  Medical negligence 553,200 0 
			  ODPL 0 0 
			  Other 73,328 20,000 
			  Property 15.860 2,144 
			  Unlawful detention 80,297 0 
			  2005-06 totals 4,451,127 24,644 
			 
			 2006-07 Abuse/harassment 0 0 
			  HRA-Article 5(4) 0 0 
			  HRA-Sanltation 0 0 
			  Assault by prisoner 74,100 0 
			  Assault by staff 91,850 0 
			  Injury-other 646,569 0 
			  Slip, trip and fall 189,820 1,425 
			  Medical negligence 195,508 0 
			  ODPL 749,999 0 
			  Other 79,783 157 
			  Property 19.666 11,104 
			  Unlawful detention 95,376 0 
			  2006-07 totals 2,142,671 12,686 
			 
			 2007-08 Abuse/harassment 0 0 
			  Claims by estate 349.100 0 
			  Article 5(4) 0 0 
			  Article 3-heating 0 0 
			  Article 3-sanitation 0 0 
			  Assault by prisoner 39,433 0 
			  Assault by staff 66,683 0 
			  Injury-other 172.754 500 
			  Slip, trip and fall 138,265 3,210 
			  Medical negligence 222.333 0 
			  ODPL 0 0 
			  Other 169,814 17,729 
			  Property 17.670 8,922 
			  Unlawful detention 276.257 0 
			  2007-08 totals 1,452,309 30,361 
			 
			 2008-09 Abuse/harassment 1,500 0 
			  Claims by estate 164,000 0 
			  Article 5(4) 65,250 15,314 
			  Article 3-heating 0 0 
			  Article 3-sanitation 0 0 
			  Assault by prisoner 79,819 0 
			  Assault by staff 165,950 3,500 
			  Injury-other 179,060 10 
			  Slip, trip and fall 139,333 0 
			  Medical negligence 203,933 0 
			  ODPL 0 0 
			  Other 134,223 0 
			  Property 23,918 2,443 
			  Unlawful detention 491,059 0 
			  2008-09 totals 1,648,045 21,267 
			 
			 2009-10 Abuse/harassment 0 0 
			  Claims by estate 85,500 0 
			  Article 5(4) 13,050 0 
			  Article 3-heating 0 0 
			  Article 3-sanitation 0 0 
			  Article 5(4)-delay 0 0 
			  Assault by prisoner 107,057 0 
			  Assault by staff 512,225 22,403 
			  Injury-other 202,831 0 
			  Slip, trip and fall 205,153 0 
			  Medical negligence 1.609.250 0 
			  ODPL 0 0 
			  Other 238,235 2,643 
			  Property 24,648 3,583 
			  Unlawful detention 259,943 0 
			  2009-10 totals 3,257,692 26,629 
			  Notes: 1. The term "ODPL" refers to Opiate Dependant Prisoner Litigation. It relates to claims from prisoners who claimed that their drug detoxification treatment dating back to the late 1990's was inadequate. 2. The category "Injury-other" includes miscellaneous injuries that do not fit into categories elsewhere in the table, such as injuries at work, smoke inhalation, asbestos claims, etc. The category "Other" includes allegations of breaches of Human Rights, misfeasance in public office, discrimination etc.

Community Orders: Public Expenditure

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the cost to the public purse was of community sentences in each of the last three years.

Crispin Blunt: It is not currently possible to separate the cost of supervising offenders on community sentences as probation case loads also include significant numbers of offenders that have been released from a custodial sentence or released temporarily into the community. Work is in hand in the National Offender Management Service to ensure that all offender services delivered in custody and in the community are properly specified and costed so that commissioners can ensure resources are targeted effectively to protect the public and reduce reoffending.
	Our future plans for, and the balance of expenditure between, custodial and community provision will need to be considered in the light of the assessment of sentencing and work on new approaches to rehabilitation.

Departmental Consultants

Pete Wishart: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how much was spent on external consultants and advisers by  (a) his Department and  (b) each (i) non-departmental public body and (ii) executive agency for which his Department is responsible in each year since 2005.

Kenneth Clarke: The Ministry of Justice (MOJ) came into existence in May 2007, merging the former Department for Constitutional Affairs and part of the Home Office. This means comprehensive and comparable data are only available for 2007 onwards.
	The Office of Government Commerce (OGC) collates data annually on consultancy expenditure as part of its Consultancy Value Programme which assists Departments in getting best value from Government's use of consultants. Expenditure is reported as a single total for those parts of the Department using central departmental procurement services, namely MOJ headquarters, Her Majesty's Courts Service (HMCS), the Tribunals Service, the National Offender Management Service (NOMS) and the Judicial Appointments Commission. The total was £50 million in 2008-09 and £56 million in 2007-08. A data collection exercise is currently under way for the expenditure on consultants in 2009-10. Figures for the Ministry of Justice family will be published in October 2010.
	It is not possible to reliably distinguish consultancy costs from adviser costs, except at a disproportionate cost.
	Expenditure on consultants and advisors are detailed in the below table.
	
		
			  £000 
			   2007-08  2008-09 
			  Department and agencies   
			 MOJ HQ, HMCS and Tribunals Service(1) 35,886 48,339 
			 National Offenders Management Service (excluding Probation Trusts) 20,409 1,352 
			 Office of the Public Guardian (OPG)(2) 418 497 
			 Sub total 56,713 50,188 
			
			  Executive NDPBs:   
			 Legal Services Commission (LSC) 1,205 1,122 
			 Youth Justice Board (YJB) 1,011 2,251 
			 Parole Board 88 200 
			 Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority 1,801 164 
			 Criminal Cases Review Commission 6 11 
			 Information Commissioner's Office(3) 126 90 
			 Judicial Appointments Commission - 215 
			 Legal Services Board(4) - 28 
			 Office for Legal Complaints (OLC)(5) - - 
			 Sub total 4,237 4,081 
			
			 Total 60,951 54,269 
			 (1) Figures include MOJ HQ, Tribunals Service and HM Courts Service. It would incur disproportionate costs to separately identify these costs. (2) The first six months in 2007-08 are for Public Guardian's Office and the second period of six months for OPG. The OPG was created under the terms of the Mental Capacity Act and exists as such from 1st October 2007. (3) These figures do not include Legal Counsel Costs for appeals to the Information Tribunal. (4) The LSB was established on 1 January 2009. (5) The OLC was established in July 2009 and has yet to commence live operations.  Note: Refinements in the methodology for classifying expenditure in accordance with OGC taxonomy means that the 2007-08 and 2008-09 figures are not directly comparable at a detailed level.

Departmental Motor Vehicles

Pete Wishart: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the annual expenditure on vehicles of  (a) his Department and  (b) each (i) non-departmental public body and (ii) executive agency for which his Department is responsible in each English region was in each of the last three financial years; and what the planned expenditure is in each case for 2010-11.

Jonathan Djanogly: The Ministry of Justice uses vehicles for a wide range of front-line services, including the transportation of prisoners and defendants. The Ministry's accounting systems do not record information on a regional basis and it would incur disproportionate costs to determine a regional breakdown.
	The following table shows the amount spent on the purchase, hire and maintenance of vehicles for Ministry of Justice headquarters, executive agencies and executive non-departmental public bodies (NDPBs) where total annual expenditure exceeds £500:
	
		
			  Nearest £000 
			   2007-08  2008-09  2009-10  2010-11( 1) 
			 Ministry of Justice headquarters 922 835 249 595 
			  
			  Agencies 
			 Her Majesty's Courts Service 2,652 2,640 2,920 2,995 
			 National Offender Management Services(2) 4,061 4,403 4,367 4,257 
			 Tribunals Service 96 65 82 58 
			  
			  Non-departmental public bodies(3) 
			 Legal Services Commission 58 57 44 35 
			 Youth Justice Board(4) 16 43 49 36 
			 Parole Board for England and Wales - 2 4 4 
			 Criminal Cases Review Commission 4 4 3 4 
			 Information Commissioner's Office 3 3 4 4 
			 Total 7,812 8,052 7,722 7,988 
		
	
	
		
			  Approximate split of expenditure: MoJ HQ/HMCS/TS/NOMS only 
			  Percentage 
			   2007-08  2008-09  2009-10  2010-11( 1) 
			 Purchase 39 41 41 41 
			 Hire of vehicles 51 48 47.5 50 
			 Maintenance of vehicles 10 11 11.5 9 
			  100 100 100 100 
			 (1 )Estimated.  (2) National Offender Management Services caveats: The expenditure for 2007-08 is for Her Majesty's Prison Service only. The expenditure for 2008-09 and 2009-10 is for the NOMS agency. The figures exclude the Probation Service as it would result in disproportionate cost and delay to obtain the probation figures.  (3) The following executive NDPBs did not incur expenditure in excess of £500 per annum: Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority; Judicial Appointments Commission; Legal Services Board; Office for Legal Complaints.  (4) Youth Justice Board expenditure in 2008-09 and 2009-10 includes car hire costs relating to the Wiring Up Youth Justice programme and form part of the total costs shown. A significant proportion of total YJB car hire costs were specific to this programme. In 2009-10 nearly two-thirds of total car hire spend was specific to this project. As the Wiring Up Youth Justice programme is now winding down, costs for the current financial year are expected to be significantly less than in 2009-10.

Departmental Pensions

Pete Wishart: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the cost was of pension contributions incurred by  (a) his Department and  (b) each (i) non-departmental public body and (ii) executive agency for which he is responsible in (A) Scotland, (B) Wales, (C) each of the English regions and (D) Northern Ireland in each of the last three financial years; and what the planned expenditure is for 2010-11.

Kenneth Clarke: Details of planned expenditure for pension contributions for the Ministry of Justice, its non-departmental public bodies and executive agencies for 2010-11 are shown in the following table.
	
		
			  Planned expenditure for 2010-11 
			   £ 
			 MOJ & associated offices(1) 10,925,255 
			 Legal Services Commission (NDPB)(2) 0 
			 Youth Justice Board for England & Wales (NDPB) 1,784,000 
			 Parole Board for England & Wales (NDPB) 614,287 
			 Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority (NDPB) 1,731.960 
			 Criminal Case Review Commission (NDPB) 487,000 
			 Information Commissioner's Office (NDPB) 1,717,000 
			 Judicial Appointments Commission (NDPB) 650,000 
			 Legal Services Board (NDPB) 197,000 
			 HM Courts Service (Agency)(1) 45,826,980 
			 The Tribunals Service (Agency)(1) 8,587,335 
			 Office of the Public Guardian (Agency)(1) 497,393 
			 (1) It has not been possible to obtain planned expenditure for 2010-11 without incurring disproportional costs, information for year-to-date spend (i.e. April to July) expenditure are included in the table above. (2 )Legal Service Commission (LSC) pensions cost for 2009-10 are awaiting audit confirmation. LSC has used available funds in prior years to make prepayments to ease cash spend for future years and plan to make zero contribution in 2010-11. 
		
	
	The information on planned pension contributions for 2010-11 will be published in the relevant Department's/NDPB's Annual Report or Resource Accounts in due course. Estimates provided have not been audited and are therefore subject to change.
	Information on planned pension contributions for 2010-11 covering National Offender Management Service Agency is not accessible at this time. My officials will provide the planned costs as soon as they are available.
	Details of pension contributions made by the Ministry of Justice, its non- departmental public bodies and executive agencies for each of the last three financial years are shown in the following table.
	
		
			  £ 
			   Financial year 
			   2007-08  2008-09  2009-10 
			 MOJ and associated offices(3) 22,817,000 23,968,000 23,941,000 
			 Legal Services Commission (NDPB)(2) 23,473,000 9,846,000 16,120,000 
			 Youth Justice Board for England and Wales (NDPB) 1,415,000 1,871,000 1,879,000 
			 Parole Board for England and Wales (NDPB) 364,688 399,215 472,270 
			 Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority (NDPB) 1,729,512 1,569,366 1,697,823 
			 Criminal Case Review Commission (NDPB) 552,000 514,000 478,000 
			 Information Commissioner's Office (NDPB) 1,196,000 1,354,000 1,512,000 
			 Judicial Appointments Commission (NDPB) £544,818 £641,144 £692,404 
			 Legal Services Board (NDPB)(4) 0 0 169,000 
			 National Offender Management Service inc Probation Board/Trusts (Agency) 321,358,98 0 336,852,342 343,580,735 
			 HM Courts Service (Agency) 75,388,000 77,061,000 73,820,000 
			 The Tribunals Service (Agency) 9,260,000 9,105,000 9,473,000 
			 Office of the Public Guardian (Agency) 1,478,000 1,537,000 1,476,000 
			 (1) It has not been possible to obtain planned expenditure for 2010-11 without incurring disproportional costs, information for year-to-date spend (i.e. April to July) expenditure are included in the table above. (2 )Legal Service Commission (LSC) pensions cost for 2009-10 are awaiting audit confirmation. LSC has used available funds in prior years to make prepayments to ease cash spend for future years and plan to make zero contribution in 2010-11. (3 )Pension costs for MOJ and associated offices include the Wales Office and Scotland Office and covers employees, Ministers and Special Advisors. (4 )Legal Services Board became operational on 1 January 2009 and its pension scheme (which is a defined contribution scheme) was set up during the financial year 2009-10. 
		
	
	It has not been possible to provide this information broken down according to contributions for (A) Scotland, (B) Wales, (C) each of the English regions and (D) Northern Ireland without incurring disproportional costs.

Judiciary: Public Expenditure

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the average cost to the public purse was of a  (a) district judge and  (b) bench of magistrates in the latest period for which figures are available.

Jonathan Djanogly: The average 2010-11 costs of regional and London district judges (magistrates) will be £147,320 and £153,050 respectively.
	The average 2009-10 cost of a bench of magistrates was £1,945.

Prisoners: Computers

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many prisoners have been provided laptop computers in each of the last five years.

Crispin Blunt: The number of laptop computers issued to prisoners is not held centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost by asking each prison to analyse records held locally.
	There are two main reasons for the issue of laptop computers to prisoners:
	(1) education-higher education/Open University-type course work, usually used under supervision in a classroom environment, although computers are also issued on a personal basis to a small number of risk-assessed prisoners for use in cell where this is considered appropriate; and
	(2) access to justice-to assist in the preparation of defence, appeal, or related legal work in those cases where it is satisfactorily demonstrated that the refusal to grant such facilities would raise a genuine risk of prejudicing the legal proceedings.
	In addition to the risk assessment process, any computer that prisoners have access to is subject to strict security controls. Any laptop computer issued for in-cell use will be restricted to specific applications with no unauthorised access to external programs, including the internet.

Trilateral Working

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what organisational arrangements he has made to ensure the effectiveness of trilateral working between his Department, the Home Office and the Attorney-General's Office on matters relating to the operation of  (a) the criminal justice system and  (b) the criminal law.

Kenneth Clarke: There is joint working at all levels between the Ministry of Justice, Home Office and Attorney-General's Office on the operation of the criminal justice system and criminal law. The importance of a joined-up approach is reflected in the Prime Minister's appointment of my hon. Friend, Nick Herbert, as Minister of State for Policing and Criminal Justice, reporting to both me as Secretary of State for Justice and the Home Secretary.
	These arrangements are underpinned by trilateral governance structures, including a Crime and Criminal Justice Strategy Board and a CJS Operational Board, which brings together heads of the criminal justice agencies and the Senior Presiding Judge.
	In relation to matters pertaining to the criminal law, these are commonly discussed during the regular ministerial meetings which are held between me the Secretary of State for Justice, the Home Secretary and the Attorney-General. In addition, any proposals for new legislation are now required to be brought to my attention (the Secretary of State for Justice) as a gatekeeping measure. This function ensures both that only strictly necessary legislation is introduced and confirms that joint working is taking place between relevant departments when considering the impact of legislation.

Unpaid Fines

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what assessment his Department has made of the likely effect on the level of unpaid fines of his Department's plan to increase the use of fines.

Crispin Blunt: The national payment rate for financial penalties at the end of the 2008-09 financial year was 85% and 71% excluding the value of administrative cancellations. The payment rate covers fines, compensation, victims surcharge, and unpaid fixed penalty notices. Her Majesty's Courts Service has in place a strategy to increase the success of compliance with court orders particularly with regard to financial penalties-the Criminal Compliance and Enforcement Services Blueprint. This was launched in July 2008 and is being implemented across HMCS. The blueprint sets out HMCS's strategic objective for enforcement which is for a cheaper, faster and more proportionate system that primarily focuses on 'first time' compliance while continuing to apply the principles of rigorous enforcement to the hard core of defaulters. The blueprint implementation ensures greater use of the sanctions available under the Courts Act 2003 and extended methods of payment. In the 2009-10 financial year HMCS collected £259,241,082 which was £12.5 million (5%) more cash against financial penalties than in the 2008-09 year.
	The use of fines is currently under consideration by the Ministry of Justice as part of a full assessment of sentencing. We will publish sentencing proposals for consultation in a Green Paper in the autumn. Any proposals made in relation to fines will take into account the issue of enforcement.

Wildlife: Crime

Eilidh Whiteford: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice whether wildlife crime is addressed in any Home Office advice on sentencing.

Crispin Blunt: The Government do not provide guidance on sentencing. That is the responsibility of the independent Sentencing Council and the Court of Appeal. The magistrates court sentencing guidelines, issued by the council, cover animal cruelty offences.